A Critical Analysis of News Media Coverage of Hurricane Events And

Home , Hurricane (ride), Hurricane Cristobal, Hurricane Dean, Hurricane Debby (2000), Hurricane Igor, Hurricane Iris

A Critical Analysis of News Media Coverage of

Hurricane Events and Caribbean Tourism

Kelly-Ann Wright

A thesis

presented to the University of Waterloo

in fulfillment of the

thesis requirement for the degree of

Master of Environmental Studies

Geography

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2021

©Kelly-Ann Wright 2021

Author’s Declaration

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. I authorize the University of Waterloo to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purposes of scholarly research.

Abstract

There is mounting evidence that the media is able to shape public risk perceptions of extreme weather events, which includes influencing tourists’ willingness to travel to destinations impacted (directly or indirectly) by hurricanes. In the aftermath of the 2017 hurricane season, the Caribbean region saw a sharp downturn in tourist arrivals, even on island destinations that did not experience a hurricane strike. The Caribbean Tourism Organization [CTO] and

Caribbean governments have expressed concerns that media representation of the Caribbean region as largely devastated by hurricane events, may have negatively affected both the image of the entire region, as well as individual island nations. As one of the most tourism intensive regions in the world, how hurricanes are framed within the media is particularly important for the Caribbean and the millions of people who rely on the sector for their livelihood. Through a mixed methods content analysis of 635 newspaper articles and transcripts published over the last 40 years (1979 - 2019), this thesis explores global news media attribute agenda setting and framing of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. This study found that, in the last four decades, the global news media has overwhelmingly emphasized negative outcomes for tourism infrastructure, tourists’ safety and tourists’ holiday experiences during reported hurricane events within the Caribbean region. The media framed tourists and their vacation experiences as casualties of reported hurricanes, provided limited information regarding the characteristics of hurricanes (e.g., wind speed, category) as well as their geographic proximity to specific island nations and trajectory within the region, and instead tended to portray the entire Caribbean region as vulnerable to hurricane strikes and other effects. The analysis also revealed that the news media consistently utilized four

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frames when reporting hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, the victim frame, the apocalyptic frame, the disruption frame, and the business-as-usual frame. The thesis concludes with recommendations and marketing responses that Caribbean destination managers can employ to help mitigate media misrepresentation of hurricane events in order to reduce negative impacts on tourist arrivals to the region and the need for hazard pricing during the Atlantic hurricane season.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Michelle Rutty, for establishing a pleasant working environment and for her continued support and mentorship throughout this process. Your enthusiasm, insights, and supervision were instrumental in shaping and bringing this thesis to completion. I would also like to thank my committee members Dr. Daniel Scott and Dr.

Brent Doberstein for their insights and recommendations which were invaluable to this thesis. I am also grateful to Dr. Sanjay Nepal for the coffee chats that helped me negotiate the challenges of being a first-year master’s student. To Marian Davies, who taught me a lot about navigating the library and research databases to find the resources I needed for this project, I thank you kindly. I would like to thank Alan Anthony for his prompt and informative responses to my incessant questions associated with navigating UW as a grad student. A huge thank you to Dr. Rachel Dodds for all her advice (life and career), encouragement, and unwavering support throughout my academic pursuit. Last but certainly not least, I would also like to thank my family and friends who have been so supportive and encouraging during this process, I honor you all and never take for granted what you mean to me. This thesis would not have been possible without each and every one of you.

Dedication

To my wonderful husband Yann, you have been my source of inspiration since day one. I strive to make you proud each and every single day. My love and gratitude for you exceeds anything that I can write here. I truly could not have done this without you. We did it!!!

Table of Contents Author’s Declaration ...... ii Abstract ...... iii Acknowledgements ...... v Dedication ...... vi List of Figures ...... ix List of Tables ...... x List of Acronyms ...... xi 1.0 Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Need and Justification for Research ...... 1 1.2 Research Goals and Objectives ...... 4 1.3 Structure of Thesis ...... 5 2.0 Introduction: Review of Literature ...... 7 2.1 Social Construct of Risk Perception ...... 7 2.1.1 The Social Amplification of Risk ...... 8 2.2 Agenda Setting and Framing Theory ...... 11 2.2.1 Framing Theory ...... 12 2.2.1.1 The Elements of Frames ...... 14 2.3 Media Amplification of Risk ...... 15 2.4 Tourism and Media Coverage ...... 18 2.5 Caribbean Tourism ...... 21 2.5.1 Caribbean Climate ...... 23 2.5.2 Caribbean Tourism and Hurricane Risks...... 24 2.6 Chapter Summary ...... 26 3.0 Methods ...... 27 3.1 Study Area ...... 27 3.1.1 News Media Articles ...... 28 3.1.2 Exploration and Coding of Attributes and Frames ...... 29 3.3 Chapter Summary ...... 38 4.0 Results and Analysis ...... 39 4.1 Publication Information ...... 39 4.2 Frequently Mentioned Attributes Within the Media ...... 43 vii

4.3 News Media Framing of Hurricane Events and Caribbean Tourism ...... 47 4.3.1 The “Victim” Frame ...... 47 4.3.2 The “Apocalyptic” Frame...... 55 4.3.3 The “Disruption” Frame ...... 60 4.3.4 The “Business-as-usual” Frame ...... 63 4.4 Chapter Summary ...... 67 5.0 Discussion ...... 68 5.1 Recommendations ...... 75 5.2 Conclusions ...... 82 5.3 Limitations ...... 87 5.4 Future Research Opportunities ...... 88 Bibliography ...... 92 APPENDICES ...... 104 APPENDIX A: Media Reporting of Hurricane Category and Wind Speed ...... 105 APPENDIX B: Stakeholder Groups Quoted Within the News Media ...... 106 APPENDIX C: List of News Media Documents Analyzed ...... 107

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List of Figures

Figure 1 - Simplified Representation of the Social Amplification of Risk Concept...... 12

Figure 2 - Map of the Caribbean……………………...... 30

Figure 3 - Eliminating Duplicate Articles (Snapshot of Excel Worksheet) ...... 39

Figure 4 - Frequency of News Articles per Year and the Accumulated Cyclone Energy

Index…43

List of Tables

Table 1 - Coding Criteria for Attributes ...... 33

Table 2 - Coding Criteria for Frames ...... 37

Table 3 - Publication Type ...... 40

Table 4 - Location of Publisher ...... 41

Table 5 - Publication by Decade…………...... 42

Table 6 - Frequency of Attributes Within News Documents ...... 44

List of Acronyms ACE The Accumulated Cyclone Energy

CHTA Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association

Covid-19 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

CTO The Caribbean Tourism Organizations dLOC Digital Library of the Caribbean

DMO Destination Marketing Organization

GIS Geographic Information System

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GFDRR Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

LDCs Least Developed Countries

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RTOs Regional Tourism Organizations

SDGs Sustainable Development Goals

SST Sea Surface Temperatures

UN data United Nations Statistics Division

UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organization

WTTC World Travel & Tourism Council

1.0 Introduction

The introductory chapter of this thesis gives a brief background on the relationship between news media framing of hurricanes and Caribbean tourism, identifying current research gaps in the literature. Specifically, this chapter provides a description of the research goals and objectives of the present study, along with an outline of the thesis.

1.1 Need and Justification for Research

Before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (commonly referred to as Covid-19) brought the activities of the global economy to a screeching halt in 2020, tourism was one of the leading and fastest growing economic sectors in the world (United Nations World Tourism

Organization [UNWTO], 2020). In 2018, the global tourism sector experienced 9-years of continued growth, with international tourist arrivals increasing by 5% to reach 1.4 billion, a milestone achieved two years earlier than projected by the UNWTO (2019). That same year, the tourism sector generated US$1.7 trillion in international tourism receipts and sustained

10% of jobs worldwide, highlighting tourism as an economic powerhouse (UNWTO, 2019).

Over the last few decades, tourism has been viewed as an opportunity for many least developed countries (LDCs) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly as other primary economic sectors have declined (e.g., fishing, agriculture) (UN,

2015; UNWTO, 2013; World Bank, 2013). However, tourism differs from other sectors due to the nature of its product, which is largely based on outdoor leisure and recreational experiences, a commodity that is highly perishable (Khatibi et al., 2020). As such, tourism faces a plethora of unique challenges and risks, including being highly sensitive to environmental factors such as climate, day-to-day weather, and extreme weather events,

which has the ability to drastically disrupt its activities and its economic contributions

(Dogru, Marchio, Bulut, & Suess, 2019; Hall, Scott, & Gössling, 2013; Scott, Hall, &

Gössling, 2019). Further, tourists are said to be highly sensitive to a destination’s environmental conditions which can pose a risk to tourists’ wellbeing, trip satisfaction, and thereby hinder tourism arrivals and future demand (Forster et al., 2012; Hübner & Gössling,

2012; Kapuściński & Richards, 2016; Rosello et al. 2020; Wilson & Becken, 2011). Many tourism destinations, particularly those in tropical regions, rely heavily upon favourable climatic and weather conditions to attract tourists (Rutty et al, 2020; Matthews et al, 2020).

The climate of a given location corresponds to the expected long-term averages of daily weather, which on the other hand is more unpredictable and can vary by the minute, while extreme weather events are rear short-lived phenomena (Scott et al, 2016). Regrettably, there is mounting evidence that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of geophysical hazards such as hurricanes and tropical storms (Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change [IPCC], 2014), which will have further implications and risks for the tourism sector (Granvorka & Strobl, 2013; Rosselló, Becken & Santana-Gallego, 2020).

Given the voluntary nature of tourism, tourists will therefore avoid engaging in tourism activities or traveling to destinations that they perceive to have poor environmental conditions, particularly high-risk environmental hazards such as hurricanes (Brown, 2015;

Hübner & Gössling, 2012; Mahon, 2006; Matyas et al., 2011; Granvorka & Strobl 2013;

Rutty & Scott, 2015). Consequently, weather and climatic events can have far reaching economic consequences for those destinations that rely on tourism as an important contributor to GDP and to sustain livelihoods.

The Caribbean is considered to be the most tourism intensive region in the world

(World Travel & Tourism Council [WTTC], 2018), with the tourism sector often serving as the dominant foreign exchange earner and the main source of livelihood for many households

(Mackay & Spencer, 2017). For example, over half of the region’s nations have economies whereby 25% or more of their GDP is directly generated through tourism (WTTC, 2018).

Studies have shown that between 2010 and 2016, tourism’s contribution to the regional GDP grew by 4.5% annually but contracted significantly following the intense hurricane season in

2017, with arrivals decreasing by 2.5% (a loss of 826,100 visitors) (The Caribbean Tourism

Organization [CTO], 2018; Scott, Moreno-Cruz, Rutty & Mistry, 2020; WTTC, 2018).

Much of the decline in the 2017 tourism arrivals to the region has been attributed to the direct and indirect impacts of several powerful hurricanes, including Hurricanes Irma, Maria, and

Harvey (Kuhr, 2018; Seraphin, 2019; CTO, 2018). However, very little is known in terms of how the media portrays tourism in the region before, during and after hurricanes, and how this may contribute to the observed decline in tourism demand.

The news media, cited as one of the key sources of weather data utilized by tourists

(Hübner & Gössling, 2012; Rutty & Andrey 2014; Pew Research Center, 2018; Scott &

Lemieux 2010), acts as an intermediary to communicate climatic information to the public

(Matyas et al., 2011; Sherman-Morris, Poe, Nunley & Morris, 2020). Importantly, the media has been found to amplify weather risks, as well as to report incorrect or misleading news articles (Barnes et al., 2008; Renn, Burns, Kasperson & Slovic, 1992; Wåhlberg & Sjöberg,

2000) which can influence the risk perception of tourists (Kapuściński & Richards, 2016;

Schweinsberg, Darcy, Cheng, 2017) and negatively impact the ability of destinations to

attract tourists (Fitchett, Fortune, & Hoogendoorn, 2020; Becken, Wilson & Reisinger,

2010). Indeed, tourists are sensitive to risk amplifying information, with the literature demonstrating that tourists will cancel vacations or alter their travel destination(s) if their vacation destination is reported to pose a risk to their wellbeing or their travel experiences

(Brown, 2015; Scott & Lemieux, 2010; Pizam & Mansfeld, 1996; Rutty & Scott, 2009;

Wilson & Becken, 2011). Despite considerable evidence that weather reports can and do influence travel-related decision-making (Brown, 2015; Ford & King, 2015; Rutty & Scott,

2009; Wilson & Becken, 2011; Zhao, Rosoff, & John, 2019), there has been little to no regional studies that have examined the impacts of weather-related media coverage on

Caribbean tourism. Moreover, there is limited research on the impacts of hurricane events on

Caribbean tourism arrivals even though the tourism-dependent region is highly sensitive to weather and climatic conditions (Granvorka & Strobl, 2013).

1.2 Research Goals and Objectives

The primary goal of this study is to examine what aspect of hurricane events and

Caribbean tourism are highlighted within the media (i.e., attribute agenda setting) and to determine the frames the media uses to construct and communicate news information regarding hurricane events and Caribbean tourism (i.e., framing). In doing so, the research will allow better understanding of how Caribbean tourism as well as the Caribbean region as whole are portrayed during hurricane events (before, during and after). The thesis presented is novel, representing the first study to undertake a regional analysis of news media attribute

agenda setting and framing of hurricane risks in the Caribbean. To guide the research, three key objectives were sought:

1. To undertake a literature review on the topics of risk, media agenda setting and framing, tourism, and hurricanes; 2. To conduct a content analysis of news media articles and transcripts from around the world which covered hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, in order to determine the most salient (i.e., frequently mentioned) attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism within the news media and also to determine how the story of hurricane events within the context of Caribbean tourism is framed; 3. To provide recommendations to Caribbean destination managers on ways to help reduce or potentially eliminate adverse misinformation from media coverage of hurricane events within the Caribbean region.

1.3 Structure of Thesis

The presented thesis is divided into five chapters, with the first chapter outlining the research context, including the study goals and objectives. Chapter 2 is a literature review, which synthesizes peer-reviewed articles on risk identification and interpretation, risk amplification, agenda setting and framing theory, how media framing can influence tourists risk perception and travel behaviour, Caribbean tourism, and hurricane risks. Chapter 3 describes the methods utilized in this study, and Chapter 4 provides the research findings, including a detailed analysis of the results. In the final fifth chapter, a detailed discussion of the overall findings is provided, and recommendations are identified to help destination stakeholders address some ways in which the news media frames hurricane events and

Caribbean tourism.

2.0 Introduction: Review of Literature

The literature review is divided into five sections. A summary of the different perspectives regarding how risks are constructed is provided in the first section, with a focus on the various institutions (including the media) that play a role in the identification and construction of risks. The second section discusses two common practices, agenda setting and framing, utilized by the news media when reporting issues and events. The third section outlines how these media practices can work to either attenuate or amplify risks. The fourth section focuses on how the media’s framing of weather and hazardous environmental events influences tourism, including tourists’ decision to travel, as well as tourists’ key sources of climate and weather information. The final section provides an overview of the importance of tourism in the Caribbean, including the reported impacts of hurricane events on tourism arrivals in the region.

2.1 Social Construct of Risk Perception

A cultural approach to understanding risk identification and interpretation was first developed by Douglas and Wildavsky (1982). A cultural approach to risk contends that risk is not determined innately, but rather what is believed to be a threat to an individual’s wellbeing is largely shaped by the institutions within a person’s culture. Moreover, it has been argued that risks are socially constructed through an aggregate of cultural beliefs, values, and attitudes, in addition to historical cultural events and individual experiences (Joffe, 2003). In the process of what is called the identification and social construction of risk, what is (or is not) perceived as risky is therefore shaped and influenced by an individual’s cultural identity,

the social groups to which they belong, and the institutions within which they function.

Accordingly, risks are subjective, with a risky situation or a threat perceived differently across different cultures.

The cultural approach to risk helps to explain why members of the same cultural group respond differently to the same hazards. For example, during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (commonly referred to as Covid-19), some people take protective actions (e.g., wearing a mask, physical distancing), while others do not (Bir & Widmar, 2020). The differing protective action is the result of members of the same culture also being members of different institutions and social groups whose values and beliefs influence and shape individuals’ risk identification (Renn et al., 1992). According to the cultural approach, risk identification requires the creation of meaning and context which results when an event interacts with historical knowledge, cultural beliefs, values, and social factors. Objects, events, and situations are not inherently risky, meaning what is considered risky is based on perceived risk (i.e., not real risk). That is, risks are not a complete reflection of reality, but rather risk is socially constructed, and how people respond to and manage risks is dependent on their specific cultural, social, and historical context (Crespi & Taibi, 2020).

2.1.1 The Social Amplification of Risk

Since risk identification and interpretation is co-constructed by forces external to individuals, risk identification is subject to external influence and manipulation. Importantly, risk can be shaped and influenced by the information people receive and how it is communicated to them. The foundational research by Renn et al. (1992) outlines how

various processes not only identify risks, but can also amplify people’s perceptions of real or perceived risks:

Events pertaining to hazards interact with psychological, social,

institutional, and cultural processes in ways that can heighten or

attenuate individual and social perceptions of risk and shape risk

behavior (p. 137).

Perceptions can be influenced through the curation of messages which are communicated and disseminated through amplification stations, which can be individuals, organizations, or institutions (Renn et al. 1992). More specifically, the social amplification of risk involves a five-step process, whereby when an event occurs or begins to unfold, (1) various actors will interpret the events based on their specific worldview, (2) these actors select specific attributes of the event on which to focus, (3) a message is constructed then communicated to individuals or groups, (4) the individuals or groups receive this message and, (5) the receivers then interpret this message based on their own world view, and can further amplify the message. Events that are relayed between amplification stations are not a true reflection of reality. Instead, the reported event is a representation of an individual or organization’s interpretation of the events. Risks are therefore curated, and risk perceptions can be shaped and influenced through messaging.

Figure 1 - Simplified Representation of the Social Amplification of Risk Concept

(Source: Renn et al., 1992, pg. 141)

Not only is the media an integral part of a culture’s social institutions, but they act as amplification agents. Individuals receive information from various forms of media (e.g., newspaper, tv news, magazines, radio, online), increasing their awareness of issues and events, which in turn shape the public’s understanding and perceptions of these events (Ford

& King, 2015; Van Gorp, 2007). In this respect, the media represent one of the many institutions that shape and define risk, with the media capable of altering and distorting people’s perception of risks (Brown, 2015; Crespi & Taibi, 2020; Renn et al., 1992; Tierney et al., 2006; Wåhlberg & Sjöberg, 2000; Wilson & Becken, 2011). The media selects certain characteristics of an event and then interprets the event based on their social and cultural perspectives, which are then formed into messages and broadcasted to individuals and groups

(Renn et al., 1992). According to Sarlos and Szondi (2014), the media does not report reality, but rather actively creates meaning and establish context by giving a version of reality which is then disseminated to the public. The media is especially important during times of uncertainty, as people engage in intensified information seeking to cope with potentially hazardous events, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornados (Crespi &

Taibi, 2020; Tierney et al., 2006). Often with few alternatives to gather information as an event unfolds, the media is therefore key to providing people access to information.

2.2 Agenda Setting and Framing Theory

Understanding how the media influences people’s perceptions of events requires an examination of media reporting practices. Introduced by McCombs and Shaw (1972), the theory of agenda-setting states that the media has the power to determine what issues (or events) become most important to audiences by the amount of time or space the media dedicates to reporting on or discussing an issue. According to Yioutas and Segvic (2003)

“agenda setting explores the transfer of salience from the media to the public” (p. 569). For the media to set an agenda, three variables are required: objects, attributes, and framing

(McCombs, 2005). Objects represent a given issue and the salience of an object within the media helps audiences determine its importance within the public discourse, meaning that agenda setting serves as a form of civic social learning (McCombs and Shaw, 1972).

However, issues are not one dimensional, instead, there are a variety of properties or what researchers call, attributes. Attributes can be characterized as reasons for supporting or opposing a given issue or the various outcomes of an unfolding event (Kim et al., 2012).

When the media reports an issue or event, they can report all of the attributes, however, some attributes are mentioned often while other attributes are not mentioned at all. The theory of

Attribute Agenda Setting, also called second-level agenda setting, refers to the transfer of the salience of attributes (i.e., aspects of an issue) from the media to the public. When the media consistently select and highlight certain attributes, it results in attribute salience, thus allowing attributes that frequently occur in the media to serve as the key elements when people think about or make judgments about a given issue (Lee & Min, 2020; McCombs &

Ghanem, 2003). While issue salience determines what issues audiences think about, the salience of issue attributes determines how the audiences think about the issue. As suggested by Kim et al. (2012), both traditional agenda setting and second-level agenda setting has a priming effect, whereby consistent exposure to the salience of issues and issue attributes, serves to influence people’s attitudes regarding an issue. This means that if the media consistently reports on the negative attributes of an issue, when audiences think about that issue, they will instinctively consider these elements, and this could work to amplify risk perception.

2.2.1 Framing Theory

There is some ambiguity around framing theory (Kim et al., 2012; Yioutas & Segvic,

2003), with some researchers calling for the convergence of the terms “agenda setting” and

“framing,” contending that framing is an extension of agenda setting (Entman,1993; Gamson

& Modigliani, 1989) while others maintain that framing describes a completely separate concept (Kim, Scheufele & Shanahan, 2002; Van Gorp, 2007). Even though agenda setting

and framing both refer to how the media communicates information and how it influences people’s understanding of issues and events, framing differs in that the media simplifies complex issues into readily digestible interpretive narratives or “frames” for their audiences

(Gamson & Modigliani, 1989). On the other hand, agenda setting is based on the salience of either objects (traditional agenda setting) or attributes (second-level agenda setting) within the media and thus their influence is based on the number of times they are mentioned within the media.

Introduced by Goffman (1974), there still remains vagueness around the conceptualization of framing theory due to there being several meanings for the words:

“frame” and “framing”. Van Gorp (2007) distinguishes the two this way: “the frame as a

‘framework’ and framing in the sense of ‘shaping’” (p. 60). A frame is a linguistic structure which contains elements of information which specifies how people should assess and interpret messages regarding an issue (Neuman et al., 1992). Broadly speaking, frames not only provide context for an issue but also guides readers on how the issue should be interpreted. Frames are not only a media phenomenon, instead, researchers (Entman, 1993;

Goffman, 1974; Van Gorp, 2007) contend that much like risk identification and interpretation, frames are largely created external to individuals and are connected to one’s culture. As stated by Goffman (1974) “Frames are a central part of a culture and are institutionalized in various ways” (p.63). Van Gorp (2007) contends that there is a “cultural stock” of frames, as such, they are everywhere, so the use of frames often goes unnoticed.

Therefore, the power of frames lies in their ubiquity and insidiousness.

The media uses a variety of frames which the receivers of this message (i.e., the public) relies on when they are constructing reality, and this allows the media to influence the way people perceive an issue or an event (Entman, 1993). Therefore, framing is the process of embedding frames within messages and since frames can be written within texts, researchers can apply framing analysis to detect the frames the media uses. Finding frames within media messages allows researchers to better understand how reality is constructed by the media. Framing analysis is an important research tool which helps researchers to decipher what journalists and news editors wanted readers to know and understand about an issue through the analysis of the media’s textual decisions and its judgements regarding the issue.

2.2.1.1 The Elements of Frames

Understanding how frames are embedded within a message (i.e., framing) and how they work, requires the understanding of the elements of frames and thus, how a framing analysis can be used to detect and decode frames (Van Gorp, 2007). The elements that play a role in framing including the “schemata” and the “frame package”. The schemata refer to the cognitive framework, a cluster of ideas, experiences, and feelings, which guides how an individual retrieves, processes, and stores new information. The frame package on the other hand is considered an identity key for the frame and is made up of framing devices and reasoning devices (Van Gorp, 2007). Framing devices are the textual decisions journalists make in order to convey their news messages, so the word choices, who is interviewed and quoted, how a certain issue or event is described, the comparisons and arguments made and even the images displayed. Reasoning devices on the other hand are related to the functions

of frames and are overt or implied statements that serves to either describe the issue, identify the cause, place blame, provide justification for, or recommend remedies for an issue (Van

Gorp, 2007). As stated by Entman (1993):

“Frames are manifested by the presence or absence of certain keywords, stock phrases, stereotyped images, sources of information, and sentences that provide thematically reinforcing clusters of facts or judgements” (p. 52).

Journalists rely on the frame package to not only convey information regarding an issue but also how the public should interpret and therefore perceive these issues. The elements of frames work together through a cognitive process whereby the schemata interact with frames to help individuals make sense of information about a given issue. Van Gorp

(2007) contends that a frame is an invitation for readers to interpret a message in a certain way. Individuals and institutions apply frames to suggest how readers should interpret the message, however, whether their message is interpreted in the manner they intended, depends on the reader’s schemata (Goffman, 1974; Van Gorp, 2007). Some readers will perceive an issue or an event in the way the author intended while others will not.

2.3 Media Amplification of Risk

It can be argued that through the use of framing, the media can construct and report multiple versions of reality from a singular event. This means that a benign hazard could be framed as catastrophic based on the words and images that are used (Daye, 2014; Hove et al.,

2014; Kapuściński and Richards, 2016; Schweinsberg et al., 2017; Tierney et al., 2006), the people who are interviewed and invited to give an analysis of the event (Barnes et al., 2008;

Brown, 2015; Sarlos & Szondi, 2014; Wåhlberg & Sjöberg, 2000), and even through the comments sections of online news publications (Schweinsberg et al., 2017). Knowingly (or unknowingly) creating a version of reality can work to either amplify or attenuate people’s perception of risks (Barnes et al., 2008; Daye, 2014; Kapuściński & Richards, 2016; Renn et al., 1992; Sarlos & Szondi, 2014; Schweinsberg et al., 2017).

According to Zhao et al. (2019), people’s risk perception and their actions to protect themselves are triggered by exposure to messages that warn a threat is imminent, with emotional affect, risk perception, and risk response behaviour escalating with increased exposure to hazardous messages. Kapuściński and Richards (2016) found that people who read risk amplifying articles perceived more risk than those who read risk attenuating articles, with other variables (e.g., psychographics, personality, demographics of the reader, i.e., the schemata) found to influence risk perception. Zhang, Prater and Lindell (2004) found that the media can amplify people’s perception of risk by giving vague information about the characteristics of a hazard and that such ambiguity influences risk perception and thus risk protective behavior. In other words, people being told they are at risk of a hazard but given limited information about the hazard (e.g., physical proximity to the hazard) or how the hazard can affect their well-being, will amplify people’s perception of risk.

Since the media has such a strong impact on the public’s understanding and perception of reality, scholars have provided different perspectives on the factors that influence media reporting of risk. Crespi and Taibi (2020) found that culture played a role in how German and English media reported risk following an earthquake in Marche, a popular tourist region in Italy. The researchers noted that “Media coverage gives a different potential

perception of the same event considering the style, the wording, the use of images and the aim of the narrative discourse” (Crespi & Taibi, 2020, p. 218).

On the other hand, Renn et al. (1992) found that the amount of press coverage was proportional to the magnitude of physical impacts, especially if many people are exposed to the potential hazard (i.e., as more people become exposed to the physical impacts of hazards, the amount of media coverage increases). Relatedly, as physical damage and death toll increases, media coverage of that event increases (Wåhlberg and Sjöberg 2000). Increased media attention can thereby inadvertently lead to the media overstating risks given that increased exposure to hazardous information amplifies risk perception. In this regard, the media is not quite as sensationalist and biased as is often thought, but rather exaggerated risk reporting by the media is predicated on the potential of high death tolls and property damage

(Renn et al. 1992, Wåhlberg and Sjöberg 2000).

While it may be argued that media amplification of risk is an unfortunate outcome of increased attention and not a conscious effort to heighten people’s perception of risk, the media’s agenda setting and framing practices nevertheless influence the publics’ understanding and perceptions of issues, which then shapes how they think the issue is to be addressed and managed (Brown, 2015; Schweinsberg et al., 2017). Tierney et al. (2006) demonstrated that the media can greatly exaggerate the activities of disaster victims by framing them as lawless, such as during and after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in

August 2005. Following Katrina, the media relied heavily upon the use of disaster myths including the “civil unrest” and “looting” frames, often comparing the city of New Orleans to war-torn regions such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The images and messages in the media

influenced public perception of risk, as well as provided justification for the government’s militarized response to disaster management. This demonstrates that the media does not only influences people’s perception of risk, but also plays a role in government’s disaster response which can dictate the fate of disaster victims. Finally, the research by Tierney et al. (2006) demonstrated that the media influences the ways in which people perceive events, destinations, and even groups of individuals.

2.4 Tourism and Media Coverage

Prior to a purchase decision, especially high price purchases like vacations, consumers engage in an information search which is when the media is the most important in shaping travel decisions (Daye, 2014). Given the discretionary nature of tourism, tourists are generally unwilling to spend their time and money engaging in recreational activities in destinations where there may be a perceived or real risk to their safety or experience (Pizam

& Mansfeld 1996). Research on risk perception in the context of tourism, although limited, collectively underscores that risk perception directly influences tourist behaviour

(Kapuściński & Richards, 2016; Matyas et al., 2011; Tierney et al., 2006). Importantly, the vitality of a destination’s tourism industry is inextricably linked to tourists’ perception of safety and security because perceptions influence tourism demand (i.e., the decision of whether or not to travel to a destination) (Brown 2015; Garg 2015; Mahon, 2006; Matyas et al. 2011). The foundational research into travel-specific risks conducted by Simpson and

Siguaw (2008) identified ten travel-risks that tourists can perceive in any number of combinations: (1) travel and destination environment, (2) health and well-being, (3) criminal

harm, (4) transportation performance, (5) travel service performance, (6) generalized fears,

(7) monetary concerns, (8) property crime, (9) concern for children, and (10) concern about others. With such a wide array of potential and actual travel-risks that influence tourists’ decision-making, the media plays an important role in framing a destination’s image.

Reporting negative news about a destination that can influence tourists’ decisions to travel has the potential for long-term devastating impacts on destination attractiveness and tourism arrivals (Crespi & Taibi, 2020; Fitchett et al., 2020; Garg, 2015; Tierney et al., 2006).

Importantly, tourists are very sensitive to weather and climate information because weather is a critical factor in people’s decision to engage in leisure and recreational activities

(Nalau et al. 2017; Rutty & Andrey, 2014; Wilkins et al. 2018; Hübner & Gössling, 2012;

Scott & Lemieux 2010). Weather can impede engagement in a host of outdoor activities as it may cause physical harm (e.g., maiming or death), undue stress (e.g., inability to engage in experiences due to poor conditions), or lead to financial loss for tourists (e.g., vacations cut short due to poor weather) (Fitchett et al., 2020; Wilson & Becken, 2011). Reporting of poor weather conditions, whether accurate or inaccurate, can therefore negatively affect destination image and attractiveness and thereby impact tourism demand and associated revenue (Wilkins et al. 2018; Daye, 2014; Garg, 2015; Wilson & Becken, 2011). Due to the potential impacts that unfavourable weather can pose, tourists often seek out weather information while planning their trips. For example, 86% of surveyed tourists from Northern

Europe planning a holiday to the Mediterranean sought information on their destination’s climate, with 81% doing so before making any travel reservations (Rutty & Scott 2010). In a winter sports survey in Ontario (Canada), 97% of skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers

used weather forecasts when planning an outing (Rutty & Andrey, 2014). Jacobsen et al.

(2011) found that 55% of tourists who traveled to two northern Scandinavia destinations (i.e.,

Vesterålen and Svalbard) sought out weather and climate information before their organizing their trip.

Studies have also found that when planning a trip, tourists source their climate and weather information from a range of outlets, including government agencies, private meteorological companies, universities, Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs), and mass media (Becken et al., 2010; Hall et al., 2019; Rutty & Andrey, 2014; Scott & Lemieux, 2010;

Wilson & Becken, 2011). According to Hübner and Gössling (2012, p. 48), “The media is an important external source of information on climate, weather and climate change.” In a recent study American study with over 35,000 participants, it was found that weather information was the most consumed news produced in the media, with 70% of them expressing it was important to their daily lives (Pew Research Center, 2019). Hall et al.

(2019) surveyed 304 tourists from over 40 countries who traveled to Bali (Indonesia) and found that 60% of tourists gained their pre-trip tsunami information from mass media. The findings of Becken and Wilson (2010) also found that mass media was the main source of weather information for the majority of tourists visiting New Zealand, with 63% of tourists stating they retrieved their pre-trip information on the internet via news media. Rutty and

Andrey (2014) similarly found that the vast majority (95%) of ski tourists surveyed in

Ontario (Canada) sourced their weather and climate information through use of mobile devices in advance of planning their trip.

2.5 Caribbean Tourism

The Caribbean region is divided into the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles and consists of the Caribbean archipelago, a collection of over 7000 islands, 13 of which are sovereign island nations (Siegel et al, 2013). The largest earner of foreign exchange in most

Caribbean nations is attributed to the tourism sector, which has developed over the past 60- years. Prior to the 1950s, the regional economy was based largely on agriculture, a remnant of the region’s colonial past. European colonial expansion, which began in the 1500s, established a core-periphery structure, where the Caribbean (periphery) served to supply the

European region (core) with agricultural commodities, supplied by slave labour (Amin,

1976). Agriculture continued to be the dominant economic activity even after slavery was abolished until the decades following World War II when the activities of agriculture began to decline (Weaver, 1988). At the same time, the tourism sector was experiencing rapid growth globally due to a series of factors including technological changes making travel faster, more reliable, and more affordable, as well as the expansion of the middle-class and their increased access to leisure time and discretionary spending (Baldacchino, 2016; Hall &

Tucker, 2004; Mains, 2018; Sheller, 2015; Timms, 2008). International tourism was booming, with arrivals increasing from 25 million in 1950 to 340 million in 1987 (World

Tourism Organization [WTO] 1987, p. 164). Among the booming destinations was the

Caribbean region, with key environmental resources that attract international visitors to the region such as tropical climates, long stretches of sandy coastlines, and clear blue waters.

Coined 3S (sun, sand, sea) tourism by Weaver (1993), the Caribbean upholds ideal conditions for tourists to engage in high-demand recreation and leisure activities, particularly during the cooler seasons in regions of the global north (Hübner & Gössling, 2012). Tourism proved to be a viable alternative to agriculture, eventually becoming the leading economic sector across much of the Caribbean region (Weaver, 1993). The Caribbean, along with other Small Island Developing States (SIDS), soon became the world’s “pleasure periphery”

(Turner & Ash, 1975), a leisure playground for those living in the global north or the core regions of the world.

3S resorts and cruise ship tourism are the most dominant forms of tourism in the

Caribbean (Apollo & Rettinger, 2019), with masses of tourists annually arriving at a rate that surpasses resident populations. In 2016, the population of the Caribbean was 42.8 million people (United Nations Statistics Division [UN data], 2020) and in that same year, the region welcomed 46.7 million international visitors (WTTC, 2018) (i.e., 4+ million more tourists than residents). Tourism spending contributes US$31.4 billion to the regional economy, which represents 15% (US$56.4 billion) of the regional GDP and supports 14% (2.4 million) of the regional employment (WTTC, 2018). Prior to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, tourism’s contribution to Caribbean GDP has steadily grown (e.g., 12.6% in 2010 to 14.9% in 2016)

(+4.6%) (WTTC, 2018), underscoring the region’s reliance on 3S tourism to gain access to foreign exchange earnings. Indeed, there are differences between the islands and their level of dependency, but nevertheless more than half of the islands rely on tourism for greater than

25% of their GDP, with some as high as 95% (e.g., British Virgin Islands) (Conway &

Timms, 2010; WTTC, 2018).

2.5.1 Caribbean Climate

Island states in the Caribbean have spent the past several decades marketing and attracting visitors to engage in the 3S tourism, with weather and climate directly shaping the regional destination image (Scott, Simpson, & Sim, 2012; Wilson & Becken, 2011). The

Caribbean is therefore heavily dependent upon favourable climatic conditions in the coastal zone to attract tourists, hinging their economic viabilities in part, on visitors’ preference for and perceptions of favourable weather (Rutty & Scott 2014). Studies have shown that

Caribbean beach tourists are heavily deterred by rain, strong winds, and cloud cover, while sun and high temperatures serve as a key attraction (Matthews et al. 2020; Rutty & Scott

2015; Rutty et al. 2020). Forster et al. (2012) found that approximately 70% of respondents stated they travelled to the Caribbean during March and April due to favourable weather conditions. Moreover, Uyarra et al., (2005) found that not only is weather important to attracting tourists to visit the Caribbean for the first time, but it is also critical to tourists’ decision to return to the region.

According to the Koppen climate classification scheme, the Caribbean is characterized by high temperatures, with an average annual temperature of 18C or higher, with a pronounced biomodal rainfall season (i.e., dry and wet season) (Peel et al. 2007). The touristic high season for the Caribbean (i.e., peak tourism demand) occurs during the dry season (December to May) (Matthews et al. 2020), with demand dropping during hurricane season (June to November). Hurricanes in the region often originate near the African

continent, following the prevailing winds in the Atlantic Ocean towards the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (Blake, 2011; Editions, 2006; Malmstadt, 2010). Based on maximum sustained winds, hurricanes are classified into categories from 1 to 5 on the Saffir-

Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which provides an estimate of the hurricane’s potential for property damage. Major hurricanes are deemed those that range from a category 3 to 5

(Blake, 2011; Editions, 2006; Malmstadt, 2010). The strong winds and heavy rainfall of hurricanes can have far-reaching effects both offshore and inland, posing a real hazard to flora, fauna, and properties, including loss of human and animal lives (Wachnicka, 2020).

The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), (2015) estimated that hurricanes cause approximately US $835 million in damages in the Caribbean each year. For island nations that are economically vulnerable, these sustained losses can impede their development. Hurricanes are also known to lower sea surface temperatures (SST), meaning they absorb and use thermal energy from warm tropical waters as a fuel (Price, 1981) which has stark implications because as oceanic temperatures increase due to climate change, hurricanes are expected to increase in intensity in the future (IPCC, 2014).

2.5.2 Caribbean Tourism and Hurricane Risks

Hurricanes can have both direct and indirect impact on tourism, which was particularly evident following the record setting 2017 hurricane season. Hit by four category

4-5 hurricanes (Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria), the region experienced severe physical damages to their tourism assets, particularly on the islands of St. Barthélemy, Cuba, Puerto

Rico, Dominica, the British and US Virgin Islands, Barbuda, Anguilla, and the twin countries

of Sint Maarten and Saint Martin (WTTC, 2018). Damage due to direct impacts included infrastructure damage (e.g., damage to airports; resorts, and ports) and environmental impacts (e.g., beach loss and damage to local flora and fauna).

While it might be assumed that only those islands that directly sustained damage during the hurricane season of 2017 may have experienced a drop in tourist arrivals, even those islands that were physically unaffected also suffered tourism losses. As noted by the

WTTC (2018, pg. 3), more than two thirds of Caribbean destinations were physically unaffected, yet “A public misconception that the entire Caribbean was struck by the storms has been damaging to the region.” Consequently, international tourism arrivals decreased by

826,100, which is equivalent to approximately US$741 million in visitor spending that would have generated US$292.5 million in GDP and funded 11,005 jobs (WTTC, 2018).

Hurricanes therefore have significant and severe indirect impacts that influence tourists’ destination choice (Daye, 2014; Hübner & Gössling, 2012; Forster et al., 2012). Using a difference-in-difference economic modeling technique, Scott et al. (2020) found that hurricanes from 2004 to 2018 reduced arrivals by 40% in the month of the storm and 34% in the month following. On the other hand, Granvorka and Strobl (2013) found that even if there was no hurricane strike in the Caribbean, the perceived risk of a hurricane strike was enough to reduce tourists’ willingness to travel to the destination. Moreover, Forster et al.

(2012) found that 40% of participants factored hurricane season into their decision-making process when booking a holiday to the Caribbean, with an additional 20% indicating their decision to travel during specific dates was influenced by low risk of hurricane. Tourists cancelling their holidays or changing their itinerary due to their perception of extreme

weather can therefore have far reaching economic and social impacts, including reduced revenues, loss of livelihoods (e.g., employment), and can impede post-disaster recovery

(Daye, 2014; Granvorka & Strobl, 2013; Hübner & Gössling, 2012; Matzarakis, 2006;

Becken et al., 2010).

2.6 Chapter Summary

This chapter discussed how risks are socially constructed by institutions within cultures and how these risks can be manipulated and amplified in a multitude of ways.

Importantly, the chapter outlines the various practices the media uses to report events and that this is often not a true representation of reality that can work to amplify the risk perception of readers. It also highlights the role of the media as a prominent source of weather and climate information for tourists, including the media’s influence on tourists’ risk perception and decision to travel. The chapter also highlighted hurricane impacts within the

Caribbean, both direct and indirect. The following chapters seek to understand how the media has framed hurricane impacts on tourism in the Caribbean in the past 40 years and the role the media plays in the indirect impacts of hurricanes on tourism in the Caribbean region.

3.0 Methods

Through an exploratory analysis of news articles and transcripts published in the last

40-years, this thesis investigates news media attribute agenda setting and framing of hurricane events in the context of Caribbean tourism. Specifically, this study aims to determine the most frequently mentioned attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism within the media as well as the frames the media uses to communicate news information regarding hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. Examining the most salient attributes of an issue present within the news media is important because attribute agenda setting influences what aspect of an issue (or event) audiences will consider when they think about or make judgements about that issue. Understanding the frames the news media uses and thus how a story is framed is also important because news media framing influences audience’s perception of and attitude regarding an issue. This section outlines the methods undertaken by the researcher to determine the attributes and framing of hurricane events and

Caribbean tourism.

3.1 Study Area

The Caribbean basin, located south-east of the Florida peninsula, north of South

America, and north-east of Central America, covers an area of approximately 2,754,000 km2, has over 7000 islands, and is home to over 42.8 million people (Siegel et al., 2013) (Figure

2). The Caribbean was selected for this study because it is not only one of the most tourism dependent regions in the world (e.g., represents 15% of regional GDP and 14% of jobs)

(WTTC, 2018), but it is highly dependent on favourable climatic conditions in the coastal

zone (i.e., high temperatures, sunshine) (Rutty et al. 2020; Matthews et al. 2020). However, due to the region’s tropical climate, geographical location, and proximity to the Atlantic

Ocean, the islands within the Caribbean region are highly vulnerable to a variety of geophysical hazards, including hurricanes, which directly and indirectly impact tourism.

Figure 2 - Map of the Caribbean

(Source: The Atlas of Canada, 2020)

3.1.1 News Media Articles

Media articles related to hurricane and tourism in the Caribbean were collected using an advanced news search in the LexisNexis database in November 2019. Under the

“Headline and Lead Sections,” the search string: ‘hurricane* w/5 touris*’ was entered. Here,

‘hurricane*’ and ‘touris*’ (or any other variants) represents the keywords used and “w/5” is known as a connector denoted by “w/n.” The w/n connector is used to find articles containing the keywords within ‘n’ words of each other. The smaller the ‘n’, the more closely connected the words are as part of a sentence or describing parts of a general idea. Several variants of ‘w/n’ were attempted, however upon reviewing a sample of the resulting articles, it was found they were less likely to be related to the present research (i.e., unrelated to tourism). The search resulted in 3,414 news articles, however, many articles were related to

Florida and North Carolina, so the geography filter was applied to specify ‘Caribbean

Islands,’ yielding 1,059 news articles. After turning on the “remove duplicates” filter, the sample was reduced to 882 news articles, which was further reduced as more duplicate articles were found in the sample (see section 3.1). This resulted in a final count of 635 news articles.

3.1.2 Exploration and Coding of Attributes and Frames

Hurricane events and their implications for tourism within the Caribbean region can be approached from many perspectives (i.e., attributes) and frequently occurring attributes

(i.e., those that are consistently mentioned within the media) will become prominent in people’s minds (McCombs, 1997). Additionally, how the journalists construct news messages to describe an issue or an event (i.e., framing), influences people’s perceptions and attitudes toward the issue or event at hand (Gamson and Modigliani, 1989; Kim et al., 2002).

As a first step, the researcher employed an exploratory approach to determine the attributes and frames within the news media by conducting a content analysis of a random subsample

of 50 news documents. To determine which 50 articles to analyze for attributes and frame exploration, Random.org was used (Stock, 2007). The program randomly generates a number from the initial sample of 882 articles (i.e., selects a value between the numbers 1 and 882).

The first number generated was 581. The researcher then used the formula K = N/n to generate a skip number, so as not to analyze news articles in succession. In the formula, N equals the total number of articles (882) and n is equal to the sample size (581) resulting in K being equal to 1.518 which was rounded up resulting in a skip number of 2. This means that the first article which was analyzed was article 581 and using the skip number of 2, the researcher skipped every 2 newspaper articles before analyzing another article, therefore the second article which was analyzed was article 584.

First, the descriptive details of each article were identified, including the title of the article, date of publication, name of publication, and publication type (if available). Next, to determine the most salient attributes within the media over the last 40-years, the researcher first needed to know the attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, in order to note when they were mentioned within a news document, then to sum the total of each attribute. As such, emerging attributes were determined following a systematic review of the

50 randomly selected subsample news documents. The researcher read each article to determine the various attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism mentioned within the news documents. When a new attribute is identified, it was defined and assigned a name, then assigned a binary code of either ‘0’ or ‘1’, with the former denoting the absence of the attribute within the news document and the latter indicating the attribute as present within the

news document. Thirteen attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism were identified within the 50 subsample of news documents (see Table 1).

Table 1. Coding Criteria for Attributes

Attribute Attribute Coding Criteria Noted when the news document mentioned damages to individual tourism- Hurricane event impact tourism infrastructure related infrastructure (e.g., Resorts/Hotels/Restaurants) due to hurricane event. Noted when the news document mentioned tourists felt unsafe or stated that Tourists unsafe during hurricane events tourists were unsafe due to hurricane event. Hurricane event impact Caribbean vacation Noted when the news document mentioned tourists’ vacations were affected by experiences hurricane event. Noted when news document mentioned that hurricane events in the Caribbean Hurricane event Caribbean-wide occurred at a regional scale Noted when news document mentioned damages to the natural environment Hurricane event impairs aesthetic of landscape (e.g., Beach erosion/ Loss of trees) Noted when the news document mentioned that due to hurricane event, flights Hurricane event disrupts flights were cancelled or delayed, or airports were closed. Noted when the news document mentioned that tourism sectors that were once Impaired tourism sector(s) now functional impaired by hurricane event, were now equipped to welcome and service tourists. Noted when the news document mentioned that due to hurricane event, the Hurricane event impairs tourism sector(s) Caribbean region or island destinations were ill equipped to welcome and service tourists. Noted when the news document mentioned that despite reports of hurricane Despite hurricane, tourism sector uninterrupted event, the Caribbean region or island destinations were unaffected and equipped to welcome and service tourists. Noted when the news document mentioned that hurricane events negatively Hurricane event impacts local economy affected the economies of specific islands or the regional economy. Noted when the news document mentioned that due to hurricane event, tourist Hurricane impact on arrivals arrivals to the Caribbean declined. Noted when the news document mentioned that due to hurricane event, cruise Hurricane events disrupts cruise ships ships were diverted, or ports were closed. Hurricane events impact tourism-dependent Noted when the news document mentioned that hurricane events impacted the workers livelihood of tourism-dependent workers 32

When journalists construct news messages, frames are embedded within the text through the frame package (i.e., framing devices and reasoning devices). As noted by Van

Gorp (2007) “The frame manifests itself in media content through various framing devices, such as word choice, metaphors, exemplars, descriptions, arguments, and visual images” (p.

64). Entman (1993) expands on Van Gorp (2007) definition, stating that who the media chooses to interview and quote (i.e., sources of news information) represents another way in which the frame manifests. On the other hand, reasoning devices are statements that are either covert or clearly expressed, and serves to characterize the problem, render moral judgments, outline potential consequences, or recommend remedies or potential solutions. As such, following the methodology employed by Van Gorp (2007) (i.e., the Constructionist

Approach to Framing), an in-depth framing analysis of the 50 subsample of news documents was conducted. A framing analysis is a research methodology which allows the verification of the elements of frames through the reflexive and highly interactive nature of the investigator with the data (Altheide 1987). Through conducting a framing analysis, the frame package can be reconstructed, leading to the identification of the frames embedded and also allows researchers to investigate why these specific frames were selected (Van Gorp, 2007).

When people are assessing their level of risk, they rely on the language (i.e., word choice, descriptions etc.) used to convey information regarding potential hazards. The language used gives readers a sense of the likelihood of impact and the potential for damage, injury, or death. According to Kapuściński and Richards (2016), the qualitative risk features of language can work to either attenuate or amplify risk perception. Qualitative aspects of language that can work to attenuate perceived risk include language characterized by “the

familiar, the controllable, limited effects, clear benefits, positive affect, consequences not fatal” (Kapuściński & Richards, 2016. p, 235). Meanwhile qualitative aspects of language that can work to amplify perceived risk include language characterized by “the uncontrollable, catastrophic effects, no clear benefits, negative affect, and consequences fatal” (Kapuściński & Richards, 2016. p, 235).

The elements of a frame are scattered throughout the news document, however, together, they point to a core idea, which is the frame and thus the framing of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. In this thesis, the researcher reconstructed the frame packages of the emerging frames by reading each news document to determine the framing devices and reasoning the devices of the frames. The researcher analyzed and noted the important textual decisions made by the media, meaning the terminologies and words chosen to describe reality were examined (word choice, descriptions, exemplars) as well as sources of information and the presence or absence of certain words or information. Evaluation of the language of the frame within this thesis was adapted from Kapuściński and Richards (2016).

The reasoning devices (i.e., latent variables which are the covert or overt statements concerned with cause, justification, casting judgement, and remedies) were also determined.

When a new framing or reasoning device was identified, the coding criteria were clearly defined, it was assigned an appropriate name, then it was grouped with other devices that pointed to the frame. The frames and their devices (i.e., framing devices or reasoning devices) were then added to the spreadsheet which also included the attributes. Framing and reasoning devices were noted as present in the news documents by assigning a binary code of

‘1’ which denotes the presence of the device or ‘0’, which denoted the absence of the device

from the news document. As a result of this analysis, a frame matrix for the frame package was developed (as seen in Table 2). The above methodologies to identify attributes and frames within the news documents was then applied to the full sample of 635 news articles.

It should be noted that even though the media can frame the issue in terms of an attribute, mentioning an attribute within a news document does not automatically mean that the issue was framed within that attribute. In fact, the content analysis revealed that multiple attributes and frames could be found in a single news document.

Table 2. Coding Criteria for Frames

Frames

Victim Disruption Business as usual Apocalyptic

Reasoning Devices Tourists’ needs/expectations Tourism-related infrastructure Tourists may have a Entire Caribbean region is vulnerable What is the defined not met; level of safety impaired, tourism operations perception they will be at to hurricane effects (including strike, problem? compromised. disrupted. risk due to hurricane event. heavy rain, strong winds) Hurricane event leading to Spread of misinformation Colossal hurricane sweeping through What created the problem? Hurricane event. disaster. regarding hurricane events. entire region. Tourists’ vacations ruined; Tourism activities temporarily Tourists may cancel What are the consequences? Entire Caribbean region unsafe. tourists unsafe. disrupted vacations. Reassure tourists island Destinations have/will quickly destinations/Caribbean What are the treatment Tourists must be evacuated or Tourists avoid region or be evacuated rebuild; reassure tourists of safety region is safe for travel and recommendations? “flee” to safety. to safety. and limited inconvenience. they should not cancel vacation. Framing Devices Language characterized by the uncontrollable, no clear Language characterized by the Language characterized by Language characterized by What is the language of the benefits, negative affect, fear, uncontrollable, catastrophic effects, limited effects, hope, efficiency, safety, security, clear frame? harm, vulnerability, no clear benefits, negative affect, and security, the controllable. benefits, positive affect. frustration, panic, alarm, consequences fatal. disappointment, regret. Caribbean government, Caribbean government, Tourism Who are the main sources? Tourists. Tourism managers, Travel Tourists. managers, Travel company. company.

Since the researcher is the sole coder, an intra-coder reliability test was conducted to ensure the validity of the coding. According to Lewis-Beck et al. (2003) “Intracoder (intrarater or intraobserver) reliability provides an estimate of the relative consistency of judgments within a coder over time” (p. 2). The traditional method for calculating the reliability of intracoders involves a Test-Retest Reliability, whereby a coder makes a judgment regarding an observation at two separate occasions, separated by a certain period of time (Lewis-Beck et al., 2003). Using the coding criteria above (i.e., Tables 1 and 2), the researcher conducted a second analysis on the same subsample of 50 news documents. As such, each of the news document was read, and attributes and frames that were present within a news document were coded ‘1’, whereas attributes and frames that were not present were coded ‘0’. Once the second analysis was complete, reliability was tested by comparing the two spreadsheets to determine whether the researcher was able to correctly identify and code the same attributes and frames. The reliability test matched 100%. The methodology above was used to guide the analysis of the full sample set of documents (n = 635).

While conducting the attribute and framing exploration, it was discovered that there remained duplicate articles within the sample. To remove duplicates, the researcher concatenated row values under the four columns “Title,” “Source of Publication,” “Year of

Publication,” and “Month of Publication” into an empty column (see figure 3). Next, a

“COUNTIFS” formula was entered into another column which work by comparing the concatenated column for exact row matches. As shown in Figure 3, if more than one row contains the exact string of information, the formula returns a value of “TRUE” and highlights

duplicates cells in red. The process allowed the researcher to identify duplicate articles once the title, source, year, and month of publication were entered for each media article. Once all duplicates were identified and eliminated, the sample size was reduced to 645. The sample was later filtered to remove articles from trade publications as these articles were not considered representative of traditional news media articles accessed by the public. A final sample consisted of 635 articles in 283 publications worldwide. A complete list of the news media articles analyzed in this research can be found in Appendix C.

Figure 3 – Eliminating Duplicate Articles

3.3 Chapter Summary

Chapter three outlined the methodology used to determine the most salient attributes within the media between 1979 and 2019. This chapter also outlines the media framing analysis the researcher used in order to reconstruct the framing package to determine the frames thus the framing of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. Finally, the chapter outlined challenges encountered by the researcher (e.g., having to manually remove duplicates from the spreadsheet) and how this was addressed. Results from the content analysis, a detailed analysis, discussion, and conclusion can be found in the following chapters.

4.0 Results and Analysis

There were two main objectives of this study: first, the researcher wanted to understand what attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism were most frequently mentioned within the media in the last 40 years. The researcher also wanted to understand how hurricane events within the context of Caribbean has been framed within the media. These objectives were achieved through undertaking a mixed-methods content analysis (including a framing analysis) of 635 news articles and transcripts, published between 1979 and 2019. This chapter presents the findings of the research and is divided into three sections: The first section provides information on the 635 news media documents analyzed in this thesis (e.g., publication type, geographic origins of news articles). The second section outlines the most frequently mentioned attributes, while the third section details the four frames the media used when reporting hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, how these frames manifested within the text and as such, media framing of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism.

4.1 Publication Information

Of the 635 news media articles, 67% were newspaper articles, 17% were newswires

(i.e., press releases), 13% online news publications (i.e., those published online and not in print), and 3% transcripts from television broadcasts (Table 3).

Table 3 - Publication Type Publication Type Frequency (n) Percent (%) Newspaper 424 67 Newswire 105 17 Online News Publication 85 13 Television Transcript 21 3

Total 635 100

Articles on hurricanes and Caribbean tourism were disseminated by a total of 283 media outlets from 23 countries and 3 world regions (Table 4). The majority of the articles were published by media outlets in the United Stated (45%), followed by the United Kingdom (27%),

Canada (14%), and Australia (4%). If note is that the top three countries are the three largest tourist markets for the Caribbean region.

Table 4 – Location of publisher Country/Region without Duplicates Frequency (n) Percent (%) The United States 127 44.9 The United Kingdom 77 27.2 Canada 39 13.8 Australia 11 3.9 India 3 1.1 Caribbean 2 0.7 China 2 0.7 France 2 0.7 Middle East and North Africa 2 0.7 South Africa 2 0.7 Chile 1 0.4 Austria 1 0.4 Barbados 1 0.4 Germany 1 0.4 Honduras 1 0.4 Italy 1 0.4 Jamaica 1 0.4 Latin America 1 0.4 Pakistan 1 0.4 Russia 1 0.4 Russia 1 0.4 Singapore 1 0.4 Spain 1 0.4 Thailand 1 0.4 The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) 1 0.4 The Netherlands 1 0.4 Total 283 100

The majority of media articles (79%) were published between 2000 and 2019 (Table 5).

In terms of decade, 2000-2009 had the most news articles published (43%), while the period between 1979 and 1989 had the least number of news articles. This may be attributed to a number of reasons. First, the sample analyzed for the period 1979-1989 had news articles for

1979, 1980, 1988, and 1989, meaning that news articles for the years 1981 to 1987 inclusive, were missing from the sample. Perhaps there were limited articles on the topic during those years or these years were simply not available within the LexisNexis database. Another factor may be due to less intense hurricanes during this period (i.e., lower category hurricanes), as demonstrated by Figure 4, which shows that with the exception of 1986, the Accumulated

Cyclone Energy (ACE) index1 was comparatively low in the 1980s and 1990s versus after the

2000s.

Table 5 - Publication by decade Year Frequency (n) Percent (%) 2000 to 2009 276 43 2010 to 2019 229 36 1990 to 1999 113 18 1979 to 1989 17 3 Total 635 100

The Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index is a key metric used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to measure the total seasonal hurricane activity. The ACE index is the wind energy index which is the sum of the squares of the highest sustained surface wind speed (knots) measured every six hours for all named storms of at least tropical storm strength (NOAA, 2019) 41

Given that 2017 was a historic hurricane season, it is perhaps unsurprising that 2017 had the most news articles published (19%), followed by 2005 (15%), 2007 (14%), and 2004 (8%).

As shown in Figure 4, it is clear there is a positive relationship between the frequency of news articles and the ACE index, suggesting that as hurricanes intensify, media publication of news articles on the topic also increases. Relatedly, the same uptick in news articles occurs during the Atlantic hurricane season, with the majority of articles being published in September (34%),

October (25%), August (17%), and November (6%). These results align with studies by

Wåhlberg and Sjöberg (2000) and Renn et al., (1992), who both found that the amount of media attention was proportional to the severity of physical impacts of potential hazards, noting that as the risk increases for property loss, human injury or death, media attention also increases.

Figure 4 - Frequency of News Articles per Year and The ACE Index

300

250

200

150

100

Number Number of News Articles 50

1988 2006 1979 1980 1989 1990 1992 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Year

Frequency of news stories ACE Index

Source: (Scott et al. 2020)

4.2 Frequently Mentioned Attributes Within the Media

The analysis revealed that in the last 40-years, the news media based their reporting on

13 attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, the majority, focusing on the negative outcomes or potentially negative outcomes for the Caribbean tourism sector or tourism stakeholders due to hurricane events. As shown in Table 6, hurricane events causing physical damage to tourism-related infrastructure was the most salient attribute, being mentioned within

46% of the news documents. Here, news documents reported impacts to resorts, hotels, restaurants, and other tourism-related infrastructures and attractions. Tourists being unsafe within Caribbean destinations during a hurricane event was the second most mentioned attribute

(45%), while hurricane impact on tourists’ vacation experiences was the third most frequently occurring attribute (39%). The fourth most frequently mentioned attribute is that hurricane events occurred at a regional scale (35%), meaning that the entire Caribbean region is exposed to the effects of a reported hurricane event. As well, 35% of the news documents highlighted hurricane impacts on the natural environment, focusing on the state of beaches, reefs, lawns, and trees (e.g., level of damage or accessibility). Another frequently occurring attribute was hurricane impacts on air transportation, with 30% of the news articles reporting flight cancellations and airport closures. Mentioned within 29% of the documents was that tourism sectors that were once impaired, were now functional and capable of welcoming and servicing

the needs of tourists. This was followed by tourism sectors being impaired and unable to accommodate tourists (27%).

Table 6 –Frequency of Attributes Within News Documents Freque Percent Attribute Excerpt Examples from News Articles ncy (n) (%) As one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, Hurricane event impact Irma has killed 21 people, leaving hotels, airports and 291 46 tourism infrastructure other buildings damaged. (Global English, September 10, 2017) “I don't care how I get out, I just want out,” said Gloria Romaine, a tourist from Orlando, Fla. Her vacation ended Tourists unsafe during abruptly Saturday night as she huddled under a mattress 286 45 hurricane events while her hotel room exploded around her. “I want a bath and a cold drink. I don't think that's too much to ask of a vacation.” (The Houston Chronicle, September 19, 1995) Ciesla arrived Thursday with visions of an island wedding. She finally got her island wedding Monday, with the Hurricane event impact damaged international airport, complete with soggy floors 247 39 vacation experiences and crumpled ceilings, as a backdrop. (The Houston Chronicle, September 19, 1995) Hurricane Cristobal has killed at least five people after it Hurricane event hurled heavy rains across the Atlantic and Caribbean 225 35 Caribbean-wide islands. (Independent.co.uk, August 26, 2014) Palms were stripped of their fronds. Beaches were washed away. Yet at the same time, there was hope--that stricken Hurricane event impairs islanders would be able to restore their ports and towns 223 35 aesthetic of landscape quickly enough to save their tourist season. (Chicago Tribune, November 12, 1995) The unprecedented devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian to the northern islands of the Bahamas and the disruption in Hurricane event disrupts travel itineraries to many airports during this period, will 189 30 flights negatively impact the economy in the short term. (EFE Newswire, September 07, 2019) Last autumn this idyllic bolthole - and much else in the Impaired tourism Caribbean - was swept away by Hurricane Ivan. Four sector(s), now 184 29 months later, it's back and so are the tourists. functional (The Guardian (London), January 29, 2005)

The Cayman Islands has restarted PR activity in a bid to Hurricane event impairs bounce back from Hurricane Ivan, which tore a pounds 172 27 tourism sector(s) 250m hole in its tourism industry last September. (PR Week, February 11, 2005) THE Caribbean is open for business in the peak winter Despite hurricane, tourist season despite some hotel closures, beach destruction 161 tourism sector 25 and flood damage in the wake of Hurricane Lenny. (The uninterrupted Voice, December 13, 1999) When hurricanes named Luis and Marilyn roared through the Caribbean last September, lives were lost, homes and Hurricane event impacts hotels were damaged or destroyed, and the economic 154 24 local economy viability of an entire region seemed threatened. (Chicago Tribune, November 12, 1995) After increasing for 5 consecutive years, tourism arrivals Hurricane Impact on decreased 24.1 percent; arrivals fell significantly in the 102 16 Arrivals months following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. (States News Service, December 17, 2018) Royal Caribbean and Carnival were among major Hurricane events international cruise lines that rearranged itineraries for 95 15 disrupts Cruise Ships more than a dozen ships in the area. (The Gazette, August 25, 2011) But that daily tourist foot traffic masks the slog facing Hurricane Impact on residents enduring a triple whammy of setbacks — lack of tourism-dependent 78 12 insurance, federal aid limits and job loss as most major workers hotels remain closed. (Washington Post, February 7, 2018)

Mentioned within 25% of news documents was that tourism sectors within destinations or the

Caribbean region as a whole, were open for business despite reports of a hurricane event.

Almost a quarter (24%) of the news documents noted the economic impact hurricane events can have on island destinations or the Caribbean region as a whole (e.g., reduction in tourism revenues). Hurricane impact on tourists’ arrival to Caribbean destinations was among the bottom three attributes mentioned in the news documents, with 16% reporting that arrivals were negatively affected due to an active hurricane or a past hurricane event. Hurricane impacts on cruise ships were mentioned in 15% of the news articles, which was predominantly due to port closures and ships being diverted. The least mentioned attribute was the impact of hurricanes on

tourism-dependent workers, with only 12% noting how hurricanes can disrupt the livelihoods of

Caribbean people who are reliant upon the travel and tourism sector for income and employment.

Attribute salience within the media can be transferred to audiences and influence what they will consider when they think about or make judgments about a given issue or event. The findings of Kim et al. (2012), revealed that attribute salience in the media is transferred to audiences and greatly influences the issue-attributes they consider when thinking about the issue. Given that the most salient attributes within the media over the last 40-years (i.e., the top six attributes) are related to disastrous outcomes for both tourists and Caribbean tourism sectors, this suggests that these attributes will be top of mind when audiences think about hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. This is an especially critical finding if a segment of audiences is considering engaging in a Caribbean vacation, since the three most salient attributes within the media are related to damages to tourism-related infrastructure and that hurricanes negatively impacting tourists’ level of safety and vacation experiences within the Caribbean region. This means that not only can this salience be transferred to audiences but importantly, these attributes are positioned as critical elements to consider when they think about hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. McCombs and Shaw (1972) states that agenda setting acts as a form of civic learning, meaning if the media places such prominence on a given issue or issue-attribute, then audiences will learn to believe it to be an important source of concern. As well, the news media’s consistent reports that hurricane events and disasters occur at a regional sale, can influence audience’s perception of the Caribbean region’s hurricane vulnerability. Even though the Caribbean region measures over 2,754,000 km2 and some islands are separated by

thousands of kilometers, amplification of hurricane risks toward the entire Caribbean region was salient within the media. Since this salience can be transferred to audiences, it can be stated that when audiences think about hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, they may not consider the vastness of the region and instead perceive that all island destinations within the Caribbean region are vulnerable to the effects of hurricanes. Combined, the salience of these attributes can work to influence people’s risk perception and their actions to protect themselves. One way that audiences (i.e., those who maybe considering a Caribbean vacation) can protect themselves is to avoid the Caribbean region all together.

4.3 News Media Framing of Hurricane Events and Caribbean Tourism

The other objective of this thesis was to examine how the news media framed hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. Four frames emerged: the “victim” frame highlights the effects and risks of hurricane events on tourists, emphasizing tourists’ safety and holiday experiences as victims of hurricane events. Through the use of the “Apocalyptic” frame, the risks and outcomes of reported hurricanes are amplified toward the entire Caribbean region. Through the

“disruption” frame, hurricane events are portrayed as temporarily interrupting tourism operations with limited inconvenience for tourists. Finally, through use of the “business-as- usual” frame hurricane events are framed as isolated, with other areas being completely unaffected by hurricane risks, emphasizing that tourists face no risks or inconvenience, and that tourism is fully operational.

4.3.1 The “Victim” Frame

In the last 40 years, eight (1%) news documents reported tourists as missing following a hurricane event in the Caribbean region, while an additional ten (2%) news documents reported tourists deaths resulting from a hurricane. Collectively, these 18 articles are based on six incidents, including Hurricanes Luis (1995), Mitch (1998), Lenny (1999), Keith (2000), Iris

(2001), and Sandy (2012). Therefore, multiple publications covered the same incident, and reports of tourists’ deaths received higher coverage. Despite the low-risk hurricane events pose to tourists, the victim frame was consistently employed within the media.

The victim frame is grounded by constructing tourists’ safety and holiday experiences as casualties of hurricane events while on vacation within the Caribbean region. The media consistently emphasized tourists’ safety an issue of concern thereby portraying tourists as particularly vulnerable to hurricane events. This frame is manifested by tourists described as being ‘trapped,’ ‘stranded,’ and ‘abandoned’ within ‘unsafe’ Caribbean destinations and are unable to leave due to a variety of reasons including lack of flights, oversight on the part of local tourism officials, tour companies, and even governments from the tourists’ home countries. The qualitative features of the language used in excerpts and headlines such as:

‘TOURISTS TRAPPED ON HURRICANE-HIT ISLANDS’ (sic) (Press Association, October

29, 1998); ‘Hurricane traps sun isle Britons; JAMAICA: Tourists huddle in shelters as

150mph storm strikes’ (sic) (Birmingham Evening Mail, August 20, 2007); and ‘Islands battered as Floyd comes ashore; HURRICANE DRAMA: British tourists trapped in storm zone’ (sic) (Bath Chronicle, September 15, 1999) convey a sense trepidation, the uncontrollable, and negative effects of being ensnared in a dangerous situation with little redress. According to Kapuscinski and Richards (2016), words with these qualitative features

can work to amplify perceived risk. This frame is also manifested by the media’s use of words such as “terrified,” “scared,” and “alarmed” to describe the emotional arousal of tourists. The headline and lead sentence of one news article reads:

‘HURRICANE WILMA TRAPS TOURISTS FROM LITHUANIA Sweeping through the Atlantic, Hurricane Wilma has alarmed Lithuanian tourists in Cuba -- the element has displayed its power only 50 kilometers away from the hotel Lithuanian tourists are staying at.’ (sic) (Baltic News Service, October 24, 2005).

Rothman and Kiviniemi (1999) asserts that knowledge about how people feel during a crisis event is an effective framing device which allows readers to imagine themselves in such a situation, thus influencing public perception of risk. The excepts above demonstrated the media’s tendency to use capitalized words in the headlines and lead sentences. It could be stated that a headline or a phrase written in all capitals serves to place emphasis on a word or sentence to attract readers’ attention to important information. However, it may also be stated that writing in all capitals is a framing device used to convey a sense of alarm in readers. The research by Forbes and Buchanan (2018) showed that globally, capital letters elicit strong feelings, generally making people feel uncomfortable.

When tourists were finally able to leave their island vacation destinations, this was characterized as an exodus of terrified tourists, so desperate to leave the Caribbean island destinations that they ended their vacations early in order to retreat to safety. Example headlines and sentences include, ‘TOURISTS ESCAPE HURRICANE’ (sic) (Belfast Newsletter

(Northern Ireland), October 30, 1998); ‘Alarmed tourists jammed Caribbean airports for flights 49

out of Hurricane Dean’s path Saturday as the monster storm began sweeping past the

Dominican Republic and Haiti and threatened to engulf Jamaica and the Cayman Islands’ (The

Daily Courier, August 19, 2007); and ‘Tourists Flee Killer Hurricane’ (The Journal, August 21,

2007). The media describes tourists needing desperately to escape a particularly frightening or dangerous situation which works to convey a sense of catastrophic effects and potentially fatal consequences. In addition to emphasizing tourists as unsafe, this frame works to construct the

Caribbean and island destinations within the Caribbean region as unsafe and hazard-prone, given frequent use of words ‘flee’ and tourists’ intensified need to leave. The headline and opening sentence of one article reads:

‘Tourists want off battered St. Thomas; Hurricane Marilyn blows away vacations Dragging suitcases, shielding themselves from the sun, their vacations shattered by Hurricane Marilyn but their lives no longer in peril, hundreds of tourists trudged to the airport Monday in a forlorn attempt to flee paradise’ (The Houston Chronicle, September 19, 1995)

In some articles, tourists were even portrayed as targets of hurricane events with a number of the news articles using language that clearly stated or implied that a hurricane’s trajectory will specifically hit tourist enclaves. Excerpts include, ‘MICHELLE HEADS FOR TOURIST

RESORT - Powerful Hurricane Michelle slammed into Cuba’s coast yesterday packing winds up to 135 mph and headed toward the country’s premier tourist resort.’ (sic) (Lexington Herald

Leader, November 5, 2001); and ‘Caribbean hurricane heading for tourist hotspots - BRITONS travelling to the Caribbean have been warned that a powerful tropical storm is gathering strength as it heads towards popular tourist destinations.’ (sic) (Mail on Sunday (London),

August 19, 2007). Such phrasing not only minimizes the broader impacts that hurricanes can 50

have on the wider community (e.g., overlooks impact on local residents), but it emphasizes the risks tourists may experience. When reporting on the hurricane trajectory within the context of tourists’ enclaves, the media’s use of terminologies such as, “chases”; “on track”; and “heading for”, can work to amplify the risk perceptions of tourists as they imply that tourists face more threat than any other stakeholders within the Caribbean region. This may also work to portray island destinations and the Caribbean region as a whole, as particularly unsafe, or risky for tourists.

Tourists’ holiday experiences were framed as another casualty of hurricane events. Here, hurricanes were reported to affect tourists’ ability to enjoy their vacations due to several disruptions, such as sheltering in place at their hotels, being evacuated to shelters within the destination, lack of water and electricity, or having restricted access to tourism services (e.g., restaurants, entertainment). The use of framing devices such as high impact language and harrowing description of shelter conditions, can work to portray Caribbean vacations as particularly unpleasant during a reported hurricane event. Detailed description of the poor conditions while sheltering, even if tourists remain at their hotels or resorts, is used to contrast tourists’ expected vacation experiences with their actual vacation experiences. Excerpts include:

‘Tourists who had come for a carefree vacation found themselves spending the day in crowded, rain-soaked shelters or in hotels without lights or air conditioning’ (The Houston Chronicle,

July 19, 2005) and ‘Almost three days without electricity, running water, room service and telephone service had been hard to take - especially for the honeymooners’ (The Associated

Press, October 13, 1995), convey tourists’ discontent with their vacation experiences during a hurricane event. Such news articles may work to amplify the risk perception of tourists who

would be interested in vacation experiences within the Caribbean region but may avoid island destinations or the region as a whole, in fear that a hurricane event could result in loss of services or them being crammed into shelters. Relatedly, the news media had a propensity to report on the loss of services within tourist zones and is particularly effective in conveying tourists’ frustrations due to their inability to access amenities which are vital to the level of comfort of visitors expect during their holidays. One transcript even stated: ‘Tourism cannot fully recover until electricity and phone service are completely restored.’ (NPR, September 23,

1995), indicating how critical access to services are to vacation experiences and that hurricanes pose a risk to the disruption of these services which could result in feelings of frustration, despair, and regret. Consistent portrayals of ruined vacations during the hurricane season could serve to portray Caribbean holidays as unpleasant and may work to amplify the risk perception of tourists who may fear loss of vacation time and even money if they book vacations during that time.

Media frames can also be grounded by whom the media chooses to interview, thus giving a platform to sources, allowing them to engage in their own framing or to entrench the media’s framing of a particular issue (Sarlos & Szondi, 2014; Van Gorp, 2007; Entman, 1993).

An important component to the victim frame is the use of emotional first-hand accounts from tourists. Articles which used this frame tended to interview tourists who shared their harrowing experiences or their disappointment with their vacations, many vowing never to return to the

Caribbean. In fact, the analysis revealed that tourists were the second most quoted source, appearing in 34% of the news articles analyzed (see Appendix B). According to Sarlos and

Szondi (2014), availability of firsthand account of experiences during crises events contributes

to the readers’ construction of reality. Readers of this kind of material are able to imagine the events happening to them (Rothman & Kiviniemi, 1999) which can amplify their perception of risk (Kapuściński & Richards, 2016). One excerpt which is particularly effective in conveying this is reads:

‘But all the good humor in the world wasn’t enough to hide the disappointment of

newlywed Julie Shadd Kennedy of Chicago, who saw her dreams of a perfect

honeymoon blown away by hurricane-force winds; “I don't think I’ll ever go to the

Caribbean in October again,” she said’ (The Associated Press, October 13, 1995).

Excerpts such as the one above indicates to the reader that travel to the Caribbean during the month of October would likely lead to similar negative experiences. According to Hove et al.

(2014), emotional first-hand accounts play an important role in framing as it involves conveying feelings of dread, fear, and distress which plays an important role in public perception of risk.

Another excerpt read:

‘Terrified honeymooner Louise Baines, 30, wept from her hotel in Jamaica: “I’m so, so

scared. Nobody has an evacuation plan for us. We’re stuck here on our own with nine

square metres of space. The waves are crashing outside but there’s no other sound. It

feels completely deserted…”’ (The Mirror, August 21, 2007).

It can also be stated that the victim frame can work to portray Caribbean government and tourism officials as incapable or having limited capacity to manage hurricane risks or disaster outcomes, since the only recourse that is presented is for tourists is to leave Caribbean destinations and shelter conditions are consistently portrayed as unpleasant, despite ensuring the safety of tourists. There are many ways in which the media can frame the outcomes (and

potential outcomes) of hurricane events within the context of Caribbean tourism. However, the media’s consistent use of the victim frame in the last 40 years suggests that the media wanted audiences to perceive tourists’ safety is a source of concern while on vacation within the

Caribbean region. Here, Caribbean destinations are portrayed as hazard-prone tourists’ trap and local authorities place them in unclean and unsafe shelters, thus, the only recourse is for tourists to leave the Caribbean region for safety and comfort.

Risks are primarily constructed by cultural and social dimensions and people’s perception of risk can be shaped by the information they receive and how it is conveyed to them. Renn et al., (1992) outlines how various institutions including the media, are able to identify risks and can also amplify people’s perceptions of real or perceived risks through use of framing. Through agenda setting, the media can direct public attention to particular attribute of an event and through framing, the media can influence the public’s perception and understanding of said event. It could be stated that the media are justified in placing emphasis on the safety and vacation experiences of tourists since their consumption of tourism experiences is critical to the economies of island nations within the Caribbean region. Indeed, in 2016 tourists’ spending represented 15% of regional GDP and help to sustain the livelihoods of tourism-dependent workers within the Caribbean region. Therefore, tourists are an important and valuable component to the sustainability of tourism in the Caribbean region and their safety and wellbeing is undoubtedly important to both manage and prevent. However, of concern is the consistent use of the victim frame which works to portray hurricane events as particularly risky to tourists’ safety and holiday experiences which can influence how audiences perceive

Caribbean tourism.

4.3.2 The “Apocalyptic” Frame

The apocalyptic frame tells the story that the entire Caribbean region is vulnerable to a colossal hurricane event. Articles which used this frame provided limited information regarding the geographic proximity and trajectory of hurricanes, instead amplifying hurricane risks and outcomes toward the entire region by stating or insinuating the Caribbean as whole will or have experienced a hurricane event. This frame is grounded by constructing hurricanes as immense in size and strength while simultaneously constructing the Caribbean region as a singular entity by deemphasizing the region’s vastness as well as distances between island nations. Next, the media portrays this singular entity as wholly exposed to reported hurricane events, thereby revealing the function of the apocalyptic frame: to communicate a sense of unfair impact distribution which has the effect of magnifying the size of the hurricane, while simultaneously minimizing the vast geographic scale of the Caribbean region (i.e., covers an area of approximately 2,754,000 km2). Example headlines and sentences include: ‘Ivan has already killed at least 15 people as it tears through the Caribbean, the most powerful hurricane to hit there in a decade.’ (Deseret Morning News, September 8, 2004); ‘THE full might of Hurricane

Georges battered the Florida Keys last night after killing more than 300 people on a five-day rampage across the Caribbean.’ (sic) (The Herald, September 26, 1998); ‘Three catastrophic hurricanes – Frances, Ivan and Jeanne – tore through the Caribbean with a collective ferocity 55

not seen in years, causing hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars in damage.’ (Monterey

County Herald, July 8, 2005) and ‘Hurricane Irma is barreling through the Caribbean, carving a deadly and destructive path along the way’ (Express Online, September 7, 2017). The excerpts above serve to convey information to audiences regarding the effects, momentum, and potential outcomes of hurricane events within the Caribbean region. Audiences rely on this information to assess their level of risk including the likelihood of a potential strike on a particular island destination as well as the potential damage in the event of a strike. It can be stated that the qualitative features of the language used by the media convey a sense of catastrophic effects, negative outcomes, and fatal consequences for the entire Caribbean region.

Indeed, some articles which used this frame often identified specific island nations within the report, however, this served only to communicate that the named islands were especially vulnerable within an already vulnerable geographic region. The analysis revealed that regardless of whether the articles eventually specified individual islands, this frame is rendered extremely effective especially since some framing devices are often prominently featured, being placed at the headline and lead sentences (i.e., opening sentence). As an example, the headline and lead sentence of one article reads:

‘Hurricane Dean hits the Caribbean - Alarmed tourists jammed Caribbean airports for

flights out of Hurricane Dean’s path tonight as the monster storm began sweeping past

the Dominican Republic and Haiti and threatened to engulf Jamaica and the Cayman

Islands.’ (The News-Press, August 19, 2007)

The apocalyptic frame is also manifested by the language used to describe the hurricane’s supposed “assault” on the region, which has a pernicious effect. For example, one article 56

opened with: ‘The stream of hurricanes that hit the Caribbean this summer will knock the wind out of several tourism dependent economies, and it will be months - even years - before they fully recover, analysts say.’ (Herald News, October 3, 2004). By stating a hurricane “hit” or

“slammed into” the Caribbean region, the media conveys a sense of widespread disaster outcomes while also diminishing the region’s vastness and exaggerating the scale of the hurricane. Additionally, the qualitative aspects of the words to describe the motion and propulsion of hurricanes within the Caribbean region, including stating hurricanes “drove through,” “roared toward,” and “barreled through” the Caribbean, can impart a perception of region-wide exposure to catastrophic effects, for example:

‘When hurricanes named Luis and Marilyn roared through the Caribbean last

September, lives were lost, homes and hotels were damaged or destroyed, and the

economic viability of an entire region seemed threatened. Palms were stripped of their

fronds. Beaches were washed away.’ (Chicago Tribune, November 12, 1995).

Excerpts like the one above was ubiquitous within news documents which utilized this frame, which portrays complete devastation across the entire Caribbean region. As well, consistent use of words such as ‘destruction’, ‘disaster’ and “ruin” may be accurate descriptions of the aftermath of a hurricane strike, however, it can be asserted that by associating these high impact words with ‘the Caribbean’, can also create a sense of all-encompassing devastation and disaster for the entire region and could serve to amplify the risk perception of readers.

According to Brown (2015), the media can alter risks by either minimizing, magnifying, or skewing risks. Through use of the apocalyptic frame, the news media works to magnify risks.

This is because the message the media conveys is that the Caribbean region (and thus individual 57

island destinations within it) is hazard-prone, risky, and is therefore unsafe for travel during a hurricane event. Granvorka and Strobl (2013) stated that if tourists have an imperfect perceived probability of a hurricane strike on an island, they may be less likely to go to the destination.

This means that if an island is lumped into an area at risk of a hurricane strike, this will have a detrimental effect on arrival to that destination, even if there is no strike. Moreover, people cannot always identify where they are or will be located relative to an objective risk area, however, as people’s familiarity with the geography of an area increases, the more likely they are to accurately identify risk areas in relation to an identified hazard (Arlikatti et al., 2006;

Sherman-Morris et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2004). The research by Arlikatti et al., (2006) found that only 36% of residents were able to correctly locate their residence in relation to hazard risk areas and the research by Zhang et al. (2004) had similar findings. If residents who are more familiar with their geographic areas were found to be largely unable to locate their own homes in relation to objective risk areas, then tourists may have a harder time locating their hotels and resorts in objective risk areas or in relation to a known hazard. Through use of this device, it can be stated that the media can prime readers to have a heightened sensitivity toward hurricane risks while travelling to the Caribbean. This framing by the media can also work to tarnish the destination of image of Caribbean destinations and as well as the regional image. As such, audiences who read this frame within the media (e.g., potential visitors) unfamiliar with the geography and vastness of the Caribbean region may assume that the entire region is at risk for hurricanes and could thereby avoid various island nations that are not in the path of the hurricane.

By making broad statements and providing limited nuanced information regarding the geographic proximity and trajectory of hurricanes within the Caribbean region, it appears that the aim of the apocalyptic frame is to simplify the topic for audiences. However, in doing so, this frame serves only to amplify hurricane risks toward the entire region, resulting in the

Caribbean being portrayed as unsafe. Simplification for the audience’s easy consumption was also evident, when the findings of this research revealed the media’s tendency to provide limited information regarding the characteristics of hurricanes. In fact, the analysis found that information concerning the characteristics of hurricanes, including category and wind speed, was often limited. For example, of the 635 news articles analyzed, the majority did not include the hurricane category (63%) nor the wind speed (60%), instead reporting only the name of the hurricane. The results suggest that the news media often referenced the word ‘hurricane’ to convey a serious threat, without further details for individuals to ascertain their risk level. When news articles did report more detailed information on the hurricane category, it was often in the case of very strong hurricanes. For example, of the 232 news articles that included information on hurricane category, 84% were for hurricanes categorized as a 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale and 67% when hurricanes had wind speeds greater than 209 km/h (which corresponds to a category 4 or 5 hurricane) (see Appendix A). It could be argued that the media is more likely to amplify hurricane risks for the entire region of the Caribbean due to greater potential for collateral destruction for category 4 and 5 hurricanes (i.e., higher windspeed and more rain could lead to a greater potential for damage). However, it can also be asserted that use of the apocalyptic frame is a tactic for sensationalized reporting because there is no evidence the entire

Caribbean region was ever collectively exposed to hurricane risks in the last 40 years.

According to Zhang et al., (2004), divulging limited or vague information regarding potential hazards serves only to amplify risk perception as people require clear and specific information regarding the characteristics of hurricane hazards, including its track and intensity, the specific location of the potential impact, and the vulnerability of infrastructure. Having more detailed information about an extreme event allows people to determine their level of vulnerability and influences whether they take protective action. These findings are significant because when reporting hurricane events within the context of Caribbean tourism, the media largely failed to divulge critical information needed for risk assessment which could result in a lack of understanding of the potential threat, how it may affect individuals, and thereby work to amplify risk perception.

4.3.3 The “Disruption” Frame

The disruption frame communicates how individual island nations (or tourism infrastructure and attractions within those nations) or the entire region, sustained some damages due to a hurricane strike, disrupting tourism operations. One of the ways this frame manifests is through published quotes from local tourism managers and government officials who either confirm there had been a disruption and presented plans to rapidly rebuild or assured that all damages have been restored following a disruption and that tourism was again fully functional.

As such, the aim of this frame appears to be to reassure tourists that even though there were hurricane-induced damages, restoration will be or was swift. Consistent use of “minimal”,

“limited” and “relatively unscathed” to describe the level of hurricane-induced damage, is characterized by language with limited qualitative risk features. An example include: ‘“Right

now, a lot of damage to the hotels, resorts and lodges is more cosmetic than physical. We are working to ensure that when visitors come, they can have access to the beaches, that they can have power, water and that the roads are clear” (Marketwired, October 2016). It could be stated that the disruption frame can work to attenuate risk perception as it tells the story of limited hurricane disaster outcomes that are manageable and controllable with minimal inconvenience to current and future travelers, rather than an apocalyptic disaster and overwhelmed or ill- prepared Destination Managers. Since Caribbean government and tourism officials are the main source for this frame, this suggests that they were successful in getting the media to publish their desired frame regarding hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. For example, one article quoted Vance Amory, Premier of Nevis as saying:

“‘The island of Nevis suffered limited damage from Hurricane Luis, but contrary to

early, unconfirmed reports, this has not impacted heavily on the tourism sector. I am

very pleased to report that water service has been restored and electrical power, which

has been restored in some areas, will be fully repaired within a short time.

Telecommunication linkages were never affected…The tourism sector, including

historical sites, is currently making the necessary minor repairs, and visitors to the

island should not be inconvenienced for any length of time.” (PR Newswire, September

18, 1995).

Excerpts such as the one above could work to attenuate the risk perception of audiences and can also serve to combat the impression that local authorities are overwhelmed and ill equipped to manage hurricane risks, instead demonstrating the disaster management capabilities of

Caribbean nations. The disruption frame demonstrate that tourists do not have to leave 61

Caribbean destinations in the event of hurricane-induced disasters, as local government and tourism authorities have contingency plans in place in order to manage imminent and unfolding hurricane disasters.

Destinations or sectors that experienced some disruption but were restored and were now equipped to welcome and service tourists, conveyed the ability to build back better than before, perhaps improving tourists’ experience following a hurricane. For example, Nicole

Moultrie, a marketing officer with the Grenada tourism board was quoted as saying: ‘“We know that a lot of places desperately needed a facelift anyway…Now they’re improving as they’re rebuilding”’ (The Calgary Herald, November 12, 2005). The disruption frame manifests in-text based on the use of words, descriptions, and arguments used to provide reassurance of security for tourists as well as local officials providing immediate and short-term remedies for the issue.

For individual islands directly impacted by a hurricane, the framing may also work to convey a sense of triumph that the island nation, along with various tourism assets, managed to weather the storm and be fully operational in a matter of days or weeks. For example, in the aftermath of

Hurricane Ivan striking Jamaica, a tourism official was quoted saying: “If you had seen this place two weeks ago…Somehow, we have managed to get ourselves out of the rubble and we are back in business” (Caribbean Today, October 31, 2004). Excerpts such as this may serve to gain the confidence of potential visitors as it assures them, they would be unable detect signs a hurricane disaster recently occurred, which can work to attenuate risk perception.

It should be noted that some news articles and transcripts which used the disruption frame, tended to portray the Caribbean region as a monolith, also making sweeping statements and generalizations regarding the operating status of the regional tourism sector. Example

headlines and excerpts include: “Most of the Caribbean was back in business last week after weathering deadly hurricane Dean” (The Miami Herald, August 26, 2007) and “although some areas have been damaged, the majority of the region has bounced back - in fact, 70% of

Caribbean destinations were not impacted including popular hotspots St Lucia, Barbados,

Antigua and Jamaica” (mirror.co.uk, December 14, 2017). Collectively, such examples imply that the entire region was at risk for hurricane effects when in fact, this was not the case.

Interestingly, these excerpts referred to Hurricanes Dean, Mitch, Georges, Irma, Maria and Jose, yet according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) records, there is no evidence that any of these hurricanes posed a risk to the entire Caribbean region. It can be said that these broad statements may have been employed to assure visitors the entire Caribbean region is now safe and may work to attenuate the hurricane risk perception of some individual.

However, it is harmful for the media to engage in this discourse in the first place, as making these broad statements can work to amplify people’s perception regarding the region’s initial exposure to hurricane risks.

4.3.4 The “Business-as-usual” Frame

The business-as-usual frame communicated that despite reports of a hurricane event leading to disasters in some island destinations (or parts of islands), other island destinations and areas were completely unscathed. Similar to the disruption frame, one of the ways in which this frame is manifested is through published quotes from Caribbean government and tourism officials, however, they emphasized that specified areas remained unaffected by hurricane strikes and other effects (e.g., heavy rainfall, strong winds). The main concern here is that

tourists may have a perception that unaffected areas might be at risk for hurricane strikes and other effects. This frame appears to be aimed at providing more accurate information, to outline the potential consequences of this misperception, and to reassure visitors that in specified areas, tourism continues to operate without any disruption, as such, neither tourists’ safety nor their vacation experiences would be jeopardized. An example that seeks to attenuate hurricane risk perception at a specific destination include:

‘Officials with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation are trying to reinforce a

different message: Most of the country’s islands are open to visitors, and those tourists

are badly needed. “When people say the Bahamas has been devastated, it gives the

wrong impression,” says Ellison (Tommy) Thompson, deputy director general of the

tourism ministry… “One of the things we want to get across is the fact that the Bahamas

is not one island,” Thompson says. “They’re having to teach geography at this point to

people,” says Rich Harrill, director of the International Tourism Research Institute at

the University of South Carolina’ (London Free Press, September 21, 2019).

Several news articles which used this frame revealed the concerns of government and tourism officials regarding hurricane risk being applied to the entire Caribbean region and visitor’s understanding of Caribbean geography. One article read:

‘Caribbean tourism officials are worried this year’s record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season could scare away visitors who may falsely believe the entire region has been affected by the flurry of storms. How to deal with the negative publicity surrounding hurricanes was one of several issues officials planned to tackle at the four-day Caribbean Tourism Conference that kicked off Sunday in the U.S. Virgin Islands… “People's sense of geography isn’t as sharp as we would wish it to be, so the perception 64

is that when one country is affected (by hurricanes), all are,’ said Hugh Riley, marketing director for the 32-member Caribbean Tourism Organization.’ (AP Worldstream, October 23, 2005).

This demonstrate that the entire Caribbean region is often perceived as a single entity whereby nuances regarding hurricane risks are obscured. The perception of the Caribbean region as a single entity not only poses a challenge for destination managers to overcome negative hurricane news articles, but it can also be detrimental for destination image and devastating to the economies of island nations. Relatedly, government and tourism officials underscored concerns regarding the media’s role in spreading misinformation concerning hurricane risks within the region, with such excerpts as:

‘False reports hit region’s tourist trade: With £7.5 billion annual tourism income at stake, publicists are desperate to scotch exaggerated stories of hurricane damage. THE Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has gone on the offensive against negative reports that project the region as a “devastated tourist area’. That was the clear message last Friday from CTO's secretary general, Jean Holder, who told reporters that “with comparatively few exceptions, the Caribbean tourism industry is very much open for business”. Blaming the press and television networks, particularly in the US, for contributing to “the false image of widespread destruction by hurricanes Luis and Marilyn”, Holder disclosed he was leaving on Sunday for the States to begin the “challenging process of setting the records straight”’ (The Weekly Journal, September 28, 1995).

Caribbean officials were not the only ones concerned with news media reports portrayal of hurricane events:

‘“With both the Caribbean and Florida, the way the news has reported it, it seems like, ‘Stay away from the entire Caribbean and the entire state of Florida,’” said Francesca 65

Bonavita, an American Express vice president […] “Our tourism is the industry that was most damaged, and not because of structural damage but because of perceptual damage,” said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. “No hotels are closed. No businesses were lost. We are absolutely unblemished. The beach had minimal erosion.”’ (Orlando Sentinel, October 31, 2004)

The above excerpts underscore the challenges Caribbean tourism officials (and others) face, including the need for officials to engage in the arduous task of undoing damages to the image of individual nations or the region as a whole, as being risky or unsafe during the Atlantic hurricane season. Another excerpt reads: ‘Package prices often drop following a hurricane as destinations try to lure back vacationers scared off by media reports of the damage…’ (The

Canadian Press, September 15, 1995) which demonstrate that this damage can indeed be a result of how the media frames hurricane risks and impacts within the Caribbean and can be interpreted as the media acknowledging, in some part, their role in shaping the risk perception of visitors as a result of making sweeping statements regarding hurricane risks within the entire

Caribbean region. The Caribbean region is a vast geographical area with many island nations.

When a hurricane develops within the Atlantic Ocean and makes its way toward the Caribbean

Sea, it does not mean that all islands within the Caribbean will be at risk of a hurricane strike.

Further, even if some islands may be at risk of a hurricane strike, it is vital for the media to report geographic details, as each island will be impacted to different degrees pending on distance from the eye of the storm.

Although Caribbean government and tourism officials often criticized the news media for making sweeping statements regarding hurricane risks and impacts within the Caribbean region, the findings of this research revealed they too often referred to the Caribbean region as a 66

single entity. Unlike the news media making sweeping statements with regards to hurricane risks and impacts within the Caribbean, Caribbean government and tourism officials, in an effort to combat this narrative created and sustained by the media, often utilized the very same language. The frequent use of “the Caribbean” or “the region” when attempting to reassure potential visitors that hurricane risks are low, reaffirms the Caribbean region as a single entity and not as a vast territory with many island nations with diverse cultures, separated by hundreds of kilometers of water. Quotes such as: ‘“When you know that so many of the economies in the

Caribbean are very dependent on tourism, one of the best ways we can support this is getting that message out there. The Caribbean is fully open for business…”’ (The Independent,

December 14, 2017), serve only to affirm the Caribbean region’s current portrayal as a single entity which has the same needs, and which faces the same challenges. Even the director of the

National Hurricane Center in Miami was quoted as saying: ‘“At least for the next couple of days here, we think we're going to have a very powerful hurricane here in the Caribbean,” said

Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami’ (The Vancouver Sun,

October 21, 2005). By omitting specific geographic context, audiences may interpret the information as the entire region being at risk, particularly when authorities or people who are considered experts in climate and weather information engage in this kind of discourse.

Importantly, this portrayal of the Caribbean as a monolith is ubiquitous in the media and the analysis demonstrate that the media is not the only source of this narrative.

4.4 Chapter Summary

This chapter discussed the findings of the content analysis undertaken in this research.

First, the results revealed the most salient attributes, which allows for better understanding of what audiences will consider when they think about hurricane events and Caribbean tourism.

This chapter also revealed the four frames utilized by the news media in its reporting of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism including the victim frame which constructs tourists’ safety and Caribbean vacation experiences as casualties of reported hurricane events. Another frame which is utilized by the media is the apocalyptic frame which portrays the Caribbean region as largely vulnerable to reported hurricane events and may serve to amplify the risk perception of audiences. The disruption and the business-as-usual frames demonstrate that those who are interviewed can have their frames published within the media, as both frames serve to attenuate the risk perception of audiences and are clearly the frames of Caribbean authorities.

The following section provides a discussion on the findings and what they mean for Caribbean

Destination Manager.

5.0 Discussion

The aim of this thesis was to examine the most salient attributes of hurricane events and

Caribbean tourism and to also understand how the news media constructed and communicated hurricane events in relation to Caribbean tourism in the last 40-years. Specifically, this thesis wanted to explore what attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism are emphasized by the global news media. As well, the researcher wanted to understand how the news media framed hurricane events within the context of Caribbean tourism. This chapter will concentrate on evaluating the overall findings and what they may mean for tourism destinations within the

Caribbean region. 68

Newswires are a highly integrated news information distribution system provided by news service organizations that collect and then distribute news reports to various mass media outlets, including radio, print, and internet media outlets (Verma et al, 2019). As such, attribute agenda setting and framing approaches within the news media may be explained by the fact that reports regarding unfolding events are largely collected by a few news service organizations which then create a singular narrative that is sold to multiple mass media outlets before being distributed to the public. Readers are therefore exposed to a specific version of reality based on the world views of those who control the news (i.e., news service organizations). This aligns with Renn et al., (1992) who discussed how instead of reporting reality as it unfolds, institutions such as the media act as amplification stations by zoning in on certain aspect of an issue or event, interpret it based on their specific worldview, which is then formed into messages and disseminated to multiple media agencies. Utilizing various practices including agenda setting, attribute agenda setting, and framing, these organizations sell their version of reality to mass media outlets which is further amplified and distributed to the readers around the world.

Consequently, readers may not receive an accurate picture of the local realities, which can influence their understanding and perception of hurricane events within the Caribbean region.

Framing in the media can warp reality, influence, and shape public perception (Barnes et al.,

2008) and as demonstrated by Sherman-Morris et al. (2020), they can even influence the way people respond to real or perceived risks.

This thesis revealed that several discourses regarding hurricane events and Caribbean tourism have sustained over the last four decades. First, the analysis reveals the presence of a discourse that compels audiences that the Caribbean region is a limited geographic area that is

largely exposed to hurricanes that rivals the region in size and that tourists and holiday experiences are casualties of these hurricanes. This discourse is established by the intersection of two frames, the apocalyptic frame and the victim frame. Through the process of highlighting certain attributes, minimizing the size of the Caribbean region, amplifying hurricane size and risks, and constructing tourists as victims, these two frames work to transform the Caribbean region as hazardous during reported hurricane events.

The apocalyptic frame is central to the construction of the Caribbean region as hazardous and thus unsafe for tourists. The frame withholds nuances regarding the size and complexity of the Caribbean region by consistently representing the region as a monolith with little to no reference to the individual island nations. The Caribbean’s construction as a monolith serves to diminish the region’s vastness and importantly, consistent reference to the region as a singular entity can be transferred from the media to audiences, thereby normalizing the lack of nuance regarding hurricane risks and outcomes within the Caribbean region. The media also constructs hurricane events as gargantuan in comparison to the Caribbean region and the apocalyptic frame then invites audiences to view hurricane strikes and other outcomes as a region wide phenomenon. The apocalyptic frame can work in tandem with the victim frame, which transforms tourists as well as their holiday experiences, as casualties of these apocalyptic hurricane events. Further, through use of emotional firsthand accounts from tourists, the media invites audiences not only to sympathize with the plight of tourists but also to imagine themselves in these crisis events. Tourists are thus transformed into disaster victims whose only recourse is to flee the disaster-prone Caribbean region in which they are trapped and go back to the safety of their home countries. These frames work independently and collectively to

entrench the Caribbean region as a hazard prone area that is unsafe for tourists during reported hurricane events. Relatedly, local government and tourism authorities are depicted as incapable of responding to and managing impending or unfolding hazards (i.e., unable to protect tourists) as they are portrayed as overwhelmed by an inescapable disaster.

In the last 40-years, the global news media’s use of the victim and apocalyptic frames specifies how audiences should evaluate and understand messages regarding hurricane events and tourism within the Caribbean. Through use of the apocalyptic frame, the news media invites audiences to believe that hurricanes which rivals the Caribbean region in size, will or has swept through the region. The victim frame invites audiences to believe that if tourists engage in a holiday experience within the Caribbean before, during, or after a hurricane event, that their wellbeing and vacations will be casualties of the storm and they will have no recourse but to end their vacations early and go home. Zhao et al. (2019) stated that after consistent exposure to media reports of deteriorating weather conditions, people’s perception of risk will increase, with people subsequently opting to take protective actions such as seeking shelter, evacuating, or avoiding the risky destination altogether. Similarly, research by Pearlman and Melnik (2008) demonstrated that media sensationalism during and after Hurricane Katrina created a negative perception of New Orleans to tourists, which in turn devastated the local travel and tourism industry. Media use of the apocalyptic and victim frames work to portray Hurricane events within the Caribbean region as widescale inevitable disasters that are especially dangerous for tourists and perilous to their holiday experiences. The apocalyptic and the victim frames can work in tandem to amplify the risk perception of tourists, meaning that news media framing of hurricane events within the Caribbean region over the last four decades, may be spreading panic

amongst tourists travelling (or planning to travel) to the Caribbean region. Tourists having a perception that the entire region is vulnerable to a hurricane strike could explain why tourist arrivals to the Caribbean region tends to decline after a hurricane event is reported.

Additionally, 3S tourism is the leading form of tourism for most Caribbean destinations and several studies have demonstrated that weather and climate are critical for destination attractiveness, visitation, and tourists’ level of satisfaction (Fitchett et al., 2020; Rutty &

Andrey, 2014; Scott & Lemieux, 2010; Uyarra et al., 2005; Wilson & Becken, 2011) and tourists are avid consumers of weather and climate information, especially in the days leading up to their vacations (Hall et al., 2019; Matzarakis, 2006). The analysis found that through use of the apocalyptic frame, the news media consistently portrays the Caribbean region as being wholly exposed to inevitable hurricane strikes and other risks (i.e., heavy rain, strong winds).

The research by Scott et al. (2020) found that when hurricane strikes affect a Caribbean island or group of islands, there was a spillover effect, meaning there are negative consequences for all

Caribbean islands, even ones that that were unaffected by hurricane strike. Relatedly, the research by Crespi and Taibi (2020) states that if a destination is portrayed to pose a risk to tourist’s safety or vacation experience, this can influence tourists’ level of perception of risk in relation to that particular destination and can lead to avoidance of the destination. This means that even if a hurricane strike did not affect some island nations, tourists could have the perception of poor weather conditions within individual island destinations, and this can work to negatively affect the 3S image of the island destination or the Caribbean region as a whole.

The news media’s consistent use of the apocalyptic frame and the victim frame can work to

amplify tourists’ risk perception and thus lead to avoidance of island destinations that are unaffected by hurricanes.

The other discourse which emerged from this study is intended to persuade audiences that the Caribbean region is a large geographical area, that hurricane disasters are either isolated or nonexistent in some areas, and that visitors would face minimal inconvenience or none at all.

This discourse is established by the disruption frame and the business-as-usual frame. Through highlighting the vastness of the Caribbean region, highlighting that the region is made of up of a plethora of island nations, many of which are separated by hundreds of kilometers, this discourse serves to deconstruct the media’s portrayal of the Caribbean region as a monolith.

The vastness of the Caribbean region is central to the disruption and the business-as-usual frames, as they are then able to outline that reported hurricane events occur but due to the region’s vastness, disasters are isolated to specific areas while other areas remain completely unaffected. The frames invite audiences to have a different perception of the region’s exposure to hurricane risks, disaster outcomes, and importantly, disaster response. Caribbean government and tourism officials outlined disaster management plans which work to combat the idea that they were incapable of responding to disasters. This showed that tourists had other alternatives rather than to leave Caribbean destinations. The frames work to reassure tourists that the

Caribbean, despite a reported hurricane event, is safe for travel and in doing so, the frames work to attenuate audiences’ risk perception. It could be stated that the disruption and business-as- usual frames originate from Caribbean government and tourism officials as they serve as the main interviewed sources and the frames work to combat the apocalyptic and victim frames within the media.

Despite the presence of the disruption and business-as-usual frames which could work to attenuate risk perception, the victim frame and the apocalyptic frame could have a greater impact on audiences. This is because the analysis found that the most salient attributes in the media for hurricane events and Caribbean tourism align with the victim frame and the apocalyptic frame (see Table 6) and the frequency and availability of negative reports work to influence people’s perception of risk (Wåhlberg & Sjöberg, 2000). Additionally, disaster- related news tends to be disseminated faster and have a greater impact than other forms of news because people who have an interest in or are in some way related to the risk areas (including visitors), require timely updates on the hazards to ascertain their level of risk (Walters et al.,

2016). Previous research indicates that tourists’ arrivals to the Caribbean region tends to experience a downturn after a reported hurricane event (Benson & Clay, 2001; CTO, 2018;

Ghartey, 2013; Granvorka & Strobl, 2013; Scott et al., 2020; WTTC, 2018). The findings of this analysis are significant because they suggest that news media framing of hurricane events within the Caribbean, could in part, explain the reduction in tourist arrivals. The hurricane season lasts an estimated six months and being a tourist intensive region, this is a significant amount of time for Caribbean island destinations to be portrayed and perceived as having unsuitable weather and being exposed to hurricane risks, thus making the region appear to be unsafe for travel.

Finally, an example of excellent communication by the media was reported by Eturbo

News in November 2019 following Hurricane Dorian. The news story is titled “Bahamas

Tourism: Yacht Charter on the Islands of the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian” and starts out by outlining the economic importance of tourism, quoting the Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert

Minnis, who stated “Around 70 percent of the Bahamas’ GDP comes from tourism.” The article then outlines that there has been misinformation regarding the effects and outcomes of the hurricane, calling them “rumors” which stated that the Bahamas has been completely devastated. The article reminds audiences that the Bahamas is a collection of over 700 islands and even though Hurricane Dorian caused damage to two of the major islands, there were another 14 major Bahamian islands that were perfectly unscathed and open for business. The article quoted Carla Stuart, Senior Director of Cruise and Maritime Development for the

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism who stated ‘“There’s still plenty for everyone to come and see, especially as reconstruction has been ongoing and The Abacos and Grand Bahama Island should be rebuilt soon.”’ The article then went on to list each of the major islands that were unaffected and detailed some of the activities visitors can experience on each. This news story works at the intersection of the Business-as-usual and the Disruption frames and represents excellent communications by the news media, as it specifies that disaster outcomes are localized and identify areas that are safe for travel, thereby avoiding the amplification of hurricane risks.

5.1 Recommendations

The research by Mair et al. (2016) examined 64 peer-review articles between 2000 and

2012 on a number of natural disasters including hurricanes to determine recurring attributes.

Some of the key attributes that emerged included media sensationalism, damage to destination image and reputation, the changes in tourist behaviour following crises and disasters, and the importance of selecting the most effective marketing messages. A destination’s image is a vital

element in the decision-making processes of future travelers (Benson & Clay, 2001; Forster et al., 2012; Mahon, 2006; Uyarra et al., 2005) and since tourists will avoid destinations perceived to pose any form of travel-related risks (Brown, 2015; Kapuściński & Richards, 2016; Pizam &

Mansfeld, 1996), it is essential for Caribbean destination managers to be aware of how

Caribbean tourism, as well as island destinations and the Caribbean region as a whole, are portrayed in the media before, during, and after a hurricane event. This research provides important insights into news media coverage of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism including that in the last 40-years, the Caribbean region has been framed as an unsafe tourism destination and that hurricane risks are framed as particularly hazardous to tourists and their vacation experiences. To help mitigate the impacts of negative media coverage during a reported hurricane event, the researcher has outlined the following recommendations for

Caribbean destination managers:

• There is an opportunity for the Caribbean region to develop an online platform to help

minimize the spread of disaster myths within the news media by delivering reliable

information in a timely manner. The goal of this proposed platform is to reflect the local and

regional conditions before, during, and after a hurricane event. This proposed platform

would be useful to both the media and visitors alike, allowing them to easily access up-to-

date information regarding the day-to-day weather conditions as well as the post-hurricane

status of various island nations (as well as areas within islands) in the Caribbean region

during reported hurricane events. This proposed platform can be utilized in each of the four

phases of the Lifecycle of Disaster Recovery Management, pre-disaster; disaster

(emergency); short term (post-disaster temporary); and long term (recovery) (Muskat,

Nakanishi & Blackman, 2014). The proposed platform can have a Geographic Information

System (GIS) map which will provide critical information at various scales, the regional scale (e.g., hurricane track, islands affected/unaffected by hurricane), the national scale

(e.g., average weather, status areas within islands), and at the local scale (i.e., hyper-local weather forecast, status of tourism infrastructure). In the pre-disaster phase, the proposed platform can serve as a hub for local weather conditions and when a hurricane develops within the Caribbean basin, the platform could provide such information as the name, windspeed, and hurricane category as well as estimated size and track of hurricane. It can also provide real-time information on the geographic proximity (i.e., distance of eye of storm from island nation), estimated likelihood of a strike, and level of potential damage in the event of a strike. This kind of information is detailed and allows tourists to assess their level of risk based on facts. Relatedly, this will provide end users a more nuanced perspective on the local conditions allowing potential visitors to make an informed decision on whether to travel to the Caribbean region. In the disaster phase (i.e., in the event of a hurricane strike), the proposed platform could report accurate and real-time post-hurricane status of individual islands. This GIS map can be colour coded based on level of damage, with heavily affected areas highlighted red, minimally affected areas highlighted yellow, while unaffected areas are highlighted green. Another strategy that could be operationalized by the CHTA entails recording the recovery progress through photographs that are geotagged and posted on various social media sites (or on the proposed platform), this technology was used in the Philippines following the Bohol earthquake and Haiyan super typhoon in 2013 (Yan et al.,2017), the 2007 Zaca wildfire in Southern California

(Goodchild & Glennon, 2010), and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan

(Peary et al., 2012). Anyone interested in seeing the rebuilding process (i.e., of communities or tourism-related infrastructure) through photographs can access these photos. Importantly, disaster recovery communication may be carried out using this proposed platform (in addition to various social media platforms) as well as to continue marketing and promotional efforts. In both the short-term and long-term phases, the status of individual tourism assets (i.e., hotels, resorts, restaurants, attractions) can be updated and assessed in real time. It is critical that the weather information as well as local reports of post-hurricane conditions for each island destination be in one place to reduce the need to track down information, to reduce redundancy, and to reduce the potential for the creation of myths. As a result, such a platform requires a concerted and coordinated cross-national approach with active involvement from every level of the Caribbean tourism sector stakeholder, including the CTO, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), local tourism ministries, and local tourism operators. There will be a need to collect and publish real-time meteorological information for each island (i.e., national and local levels), as such, it is recommended that the CTO and CHTA work together to develop, manage, and champion this proposed platform. The CTO can work closely with various meteorological services to have local, hyper-local weather forecast, and hurricane tracking updated on the platform.

The CHTA can collect information regarding the status of community infrastructure (i.e., roads, electricity, communication, water supply) which are critical for tourism operations and provide real-time updated on the platform. As well, CHTA can work closely with owners and operators to provide update on the level of damage and recovery status of

tourism infrastructure (i.e., hotels, resorts, airports etc.). Visitors will be able to search,

examine, and compare the state of each island as well the status of the various resorts and

attractions. It is recommended that a marketing campaign is launched to promote the

platform, encouraging travel agents and tourists to access this site over others. As well,

when invited to be interviewed, Caribbean government and tourism officials should

consistently reference this platform in order to increase awareness for both the news media

and potential visitors. It is recommended that destination managers regularly pursue

interviews with leading global news media sources (e.g., BBC, New York Times, The

Globe and Mail etc.) as well as travel writers and bloggers and provide them with the

information outlined above, ensuring to highlight availability of a GIS map (and geotagged

photos) that provide real-time updates detailing particular locations of hurricane strikes and

to what degree, ensuring to highlight unaffected areas.

• Successful post-disaster communication requires careful and strategic planning because

without this, some messages can be successful while other messages may not be well-

received and can work against the intended purpose (i.e., attract visitors to the Caribbean

region) (Mair, Ritchie, & Walters, 2016). As such, it is important that post-disaster

messaging come from one source, preferably the Destination marketing organization

(DMO), in the case of the Caribbean region, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)

should be the voice for the region, in order to reduce the potential for miscommunication,

error, and confusion. Instead of multiples voices and uncoordinated communications, the

CTO will have the expertise and resources to obtain accurate information, to design

appropriate and effective messages, and to respond swiftly. Responses can be posted to the

proposed platform, social media, and traditional media outlets.

• Tourists who visited New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina had a more positive perception

and image of the city verses those who had never visited the destination before (Chacko &

Hawkins Marcell, 2007). Therefore, a cost-effective strategy destination manager should

consider is targeting advertising efforts to attract repeat visitors (Mair et al., 2016; Pearlman

& Melnik, 2008) as they may be more familiar with the destination and already have a

positive perception.

• Even though the research by Pearlman and Melnik (2008) demonstrate that the influence of

misleading destination tourism images decreases over time, it is not an efficient strategy to

expect tourists to simply forget about the reported destruction, even though it may be untrue

or misleading. According to Fall and Massey (2005), Crisis Response Strategies (CRS) have

been demonstrated to mitigate the negative effects of a crisis, which is essential to help undo

the harm that media sensationalism can cause to destination image (Chacko & Hawkins

Marcell, 2007; Pearlman and Melnik, 2008). A potential opportunity to help dispel media

myths, repair destination image and to regain consumer trust in both the short and long-

terms, is for destination managers to invite journalists and travel writers (i.e., from reputable

media outlets with reach to international audiences) to visit and tour various island

destinations and report their experiences. Allowing journalists to see, experience, and report

life on the ground after a hurricane event can work to maximize recovery efforts since the

media acts a key source of weather information for tourists. As such, these reports will act

as a form of counter response to reports that spread misinformation regarding hurricane

events and Caribbean tourism. Destination managers can also use this as an opportunity to

discuss and demonstrate to journalists the negative economic impacts media sensationalism

has on the Caribbean tourism sector.

• Since the news media are the ones largely responsible for spreading misinformation

regarding hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, perhaps Caribbean officials should limit

their reliance on the news media to correct this narrative, since sensationalized news is more

marketable and profitable for media outlets. As such, an important strategy destination

manager can utilize is social media in order to gain direct and instant access to audiences

from around the world to address the spreading of news media misinformation more

effectively regarding hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. Hurricanes are said to reduce

arrivals by 40% during the first month after a strike and 34% in the following month and

this can spillover to islands unaffected by hurricanes (Scott et al, 2020), amounting to

millions of dollars in lost tourism revenue and lost contributions the GDP of islands.

Investment in paid advertising through social media sites such a Twitter, Instagram, and

Facebook would be a useful and affordable strategy in the recovery marketing efforts in

order to create awareness that unaffected islands are safe for travel (i.e., to attenuate the risk

perception of potential visitors) and to attract visitors to the Caribbean region. As

mentioned, social media allows destination managers direct and immediate access to

audiences from around the world, as such, there is a need to craft reliable and persuasive

messages in multiple languages, to publicize that the Caribbean is indeed open for business.

5.2 Conclusions

This thesis examined global news media attribute agenda setting and framing of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. Despite ample evidence that weather affects tourists’ travel decisions, and that the media is a key source of weather information for travellers, there have been few studies that have studied the impact of weather-related media reports on

Caribbean tourism. This thesis moves the literature forward with several novel contributions including identifying the attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism within the news media. Importantly, this thesis identified the level of salience for each attribute revealing the media’s tendency to focus on negative outcomes for Caribbean tourism infrastructure and consequences for tourists’ safety and their vacation experiences. Attribute agenda setting research within the context of Caribbean tourism was not previously examined, as such, this thesis filled an important gap within the academic literature. This is significant because identifying the attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism allows for understanding of what audiences (specifically, potential visitors to the Caribbean region) will consider when they think about or make judgements about Caribbean tourism during the hurricane season.

Further, the literature on media framing of hurricane risks and Caribbean tourism is sparse, with only one research by Daye (2014), which examined selected UK media coverage of

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 in order to evaluate the framing of tourist risk and the media’s key sources (i.e., who is interviewed and quoted). The research by Daye (2014) revealed the media’s tendency to frame hurricane risks toward tourists, which is supported by the findings of this thesis. However, this thesis went further by identifying the frames the global news media uses when they tell the story of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, which was also not

previously addressed in the literature. This is a novel contribution because the elements of the media frames were deconstructed and examined, revealing how the news media constructs its narrative, how they want audiences to interpret information about hurricane events and

Caribbean tourism, and more importantly, why this narrative can work to influence risk perception. There are no other studies within the academic literature which identifies the frames the media uses when reporting hurricane events and Caribbean tourism.

Many media frames have been detected and named within the academic literature on media framing, including the “Victim frame” (Bing & Lombardo, 1997), the “Apocalyptic frame” (Salek & Cole, 2019), and the “Disruption frame” (Boykoff, 2006; Kubler, 2020), however, none of these frames have been identified within the tourism literature. Another important contribution of this thesis is identifying and naming the “Business-as-usual frame”, which has not previously existed within the academic literature. The researcher was unable to find existing frames within the literature which corresponds with the Business-as-usual frame, resulting in the naming of this frame.

There were four objectives of this thesis: first, in order to become well versed on the topics and to identify the gaps within the literature, the researcher wanted to undertake a literature review on the subject matters of risk, media agenda setting and framing, tourism, and hurricanes. Next, the researcher wanted to undertake a mixed methods content analysis of media news stories and transcripts from around the world which reported news information at the intersection of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. This was done to determine the most salient attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, as well as to determine how the present topic was framed. Finally, the researcher wanted to provide recommendations to

Caribbean destination managers on ways to help reduce or potentially eliminate myths and misinformation during news media coverage of reported hurricane events.

In order to address the two main objectives of this research, a content analysis of news media articles and transcripts was conducted. The news documents (i.e., news articles and transcripts) analyzed in this thesis were retrieved from the LexisNexis database in November

2019 and coding was done within an excel spreadsheet. To determine the most salient attributes within the media over the last 40-years, the researcher first needed to know the attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism and then to note when they were mentioned within a news document. As such, as a first step, emerging attributes were determined following a systematic review of 50 randomly selected news documents. A binary code of ‘0’ denoted the absence of an attribute within the news document and ‘1’ indicated the attribute as present within the news document. Twelve attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism were identified (as seen in Table 6).

In order to determine news media framing of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism, the researcher also conducted a framing analysis of the same 50 subsample of news documents.

The framing analysis allowed the researcher to identify the framing devices and reasoning devices, allowing for the reconstruction of the frame package, which led to the identification of the frames embedded within the text. Recreation of the frame package required analysis of the media’s word choice, descriptions of events, figures of speech, rationalizations, justifications, and sources of information. Four frames emerged during the analysis: the victim frame, the apocalyptic frame, the disruption frame, and the business-as-usual frame. Once the frames were determined, they were added to the spreadsheet which also had the attributes. A reliability test

was conducted as such. The above methodology was then applied to the full sample (i.e., 635 news documents). As such, during analysis of the full sample, each document was read and attributes and frames that were present within a news document were coded ‘1’ while attributes and frames that were absent were coded ‘0’. The sum for each attribute was totaled allowing the determination of the most salient attributes within the global news media.

The study found that in the past 40 years, the news media has consistently highlighted

13 major attributes of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism. If this salience were to be transferred from the news media to audiences, this means that when audiences think of hurricane events and tourism experiences within the Caribbean, they will consider the salient attributes. The findings of this research revealed that the top 3 most frequently mentioned attributes were that hurricane events damaged tourism-related infrastructure, hurricane events were detrimental to tourists’ holiday experience, and that tourists were unsafe due to hurricane events. Results also indicated that in the last four decades, the news media regularly mentioned that hurricane events affected the entire Caribbean region as this was the fourth most salient attribute. These attributes may work to amplify the risk perception of audiences.

The results also found that the news media used the victim frame to portray tourists as particularly vulnerable, with their level of safety and holiday experiences being the primary casualties of hurricane events while on vacation with the Caribbean region. This frame was entrenched by published quotes from interviews with tourists sharing harrowing hurricane- related experiences. As well, the media utilized the apocalyptic frame to construct the

Caribbean region as a monolith, amplifying the size of hurricanes while minimizing the size of the region, thereby rendering the Caribbean region as wholly vulnerable to hurricane risks and

other impacts during reported hurricane events. The victim and apocalyptic frames work together to portray the Caribbean region as largely unsafe for tourists during reported hurricanes as such, tourists may believe that the region and the islands within it, might not be the best place for a sunny vacation experience.

The CTO and various Caribbean government officials were largely concerned about the media representation of the Caribbean region as hurricane-ravaged and vulnerable to hurricane strikes and these findings suggests that their concerns may be valid. Importantly, the findings of this present research are novel, revealing that the media’s use of the victim and apocalyptic frames is ubiquitous in media publications around the world. Previous research demonstrates the media’s ability to influence and shape public perception which could work to amplify the risk perception of readers. As such, these findings may indicate the media’s role in tarnishing the destination image of island destinations and the Caribbean region as a whole, during active hurricane events.

Conversely, two other frames emerged which can be stated to help attenuate risk perception. The disruption frame was used to communicate that hurricane disasters occurred however, they were manageable and pose little to no inconvenience to tourists, as restoration was either complete or were already underway. Meanwhile, the business-as-usual frame was used to tell the story that the Caribbean is a vast geographic region and even though some island destinations may have been affected, others were perfectly safe for tourists. The disruption and business-as-usual frames work together to tell the story of manageable disaster outcomes or no hurricane disasters at all in some areas.

Given the emergence of the contradictory frames, the overarching recommendation is that steps must be taken to reduce or eliminate misinformation and the spreading of myths. As such, a proactive approach (i.e., to stop it before it occurs) would be for Caribbean government and tourism officials to work closely with the global news media during reported hurricane events in order to disseminate information that more accurately represent the local realities.

Based on the key sources of information for the disruption and business-as-usual frames, it appears that Caribbean government and tourism officials managed to get their framing of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism published within the media. This is a reactionary approach that can be stated to work to attenuate risk perception. As such, it is recommended that they continue to respond with information to correct the harmful narrative.

5.3 Limitations

This research was only able to analyze news media articles and transcripts regarding the present topic from a total of 283 media outlets located in 23 countries and three world regions

(see Table 4). Only 2% of the media outlets were found to be from the Caribbean region, meaning that regarding this present topic, LexisNexis only collect and store a limited number of news articles and transcripts published by Caribbean sources. This resulted in limiting the sample analyzed and possibly biasing the results. Since this research is focused on events within the Caribbean, it was anticipated that more Caribbean news publications would have been captured in the sample publications, however, this was not the case. If more Caribbean news media were included, the findings may not have been different given that the four frames which emerged were directed toward audiences who would likely travel to the Caribbean from other 87

regions of the world. Two of the frames used within the news media (i.e., apocalyptic and victim frames) serves to caution visitors from travelling to the Caribbean region while the other two frames (i.e., the disruption and business-as-usual frames) serve to reassure visitors that the

Caribbean region is safe for travel and to persuade them to visit. The vast majority of international tourists to the Caribbean region come from the United States, the United

Kingdom, and Canada (WTTC, 2018) and it was not surprising that these countries represent the top 3 source regions for the news documents analyzed in this thesis. The media tends to replace the values of persons or areas on which it reports with the values of its readers (Santos

2004), with framing constructed to meet the needs of the cultural lens or shared values of the readers (Crespi & Taibi, 2020). Consequently, the sample analyzed could account for why so much emphasis is placed on tourists’ safety and vacation experiences and also why the media were not more specific with regards to the location of hurricane risk factors. The intended audience (i.e., tourists living outside of the Caribbean), are therefore more likely to be concerned with issues related to their holiday rather than issues impacting the locals who live in the Caribbean, which is how the researcher believes Caribbean media outlets would frame the present topic. To test this hypothesis, a future study could use an alternative database (i.e.,

Digital Library of the Caribbean [dLOC]) to collect news articles and transcripts and explore whether differences would be observed between the frames of Caribbean news publications and non-Caribbean publications regarding hurricane events and Caribbean tourism.

5.4 Future Research Opportunities

The present research provides a broad overview of news media attribute agenda setting and framing in the context of Caribbean tourism and should be considered the groundwork for future research into this topic. There are several interesting questions that could be explored to give a better understanding of the role the news media plays in tourists perception of hurricane risks within the Caribbean region.

A future research could examine differences in attributes and framing approaches across source countries to explore whether cultural differences exist. For example, do news articles from the UK frame hurricane and Caribbean tourism differently than Canadian or American publications? Another study could explore framing differences between the various types of newspaper publications to assess whether attributes and news frames are different, such as between tabloid publications and broadsheet or more “intellectual” publications. The research by Daye (2014) explored UK media framing of hurricane risks for UK publications and found that reporting style was consistent across the various levels of publications, with news stories regarding hurricane risks being sensationalized. Would this exist for other countries and regions of the world? Another interesting question would be to examine differences in attributes and framing approaches over time. Did the global news media utilize the various frames more often in the 1980s or in the 2000s?

Given the importance and ubiquity of social media as an important news source

(Yadamsuren & Erdelez, 2017), it would be interesting to understand attribute agenda setting and framing of the present topic on social media sites including Twitter and Facebook. A study such as this could be conducted through a hashtag search on the platform, downloading the metadata and conducting a content analysis such as the one performed in the research by Shahi

et al. (2021). Even though social media consists of a collection of diverse opinions including laypersons, academics, scientists, and even journalists, it is believed that framing and salient attributes may be consistent with the findings of this thesis. This is because the media sets the agenda and influences the public discourse (i.e., what topics audiences discuss as well as audience’s attitude and perceptions regarding the topic) so the people discussing this topic on social media may be influenced by the media’s perceived reality. On the other hand, findings may differ since some individuals may be within Caribbean islands during a reported hurricane event and are likely to post their thoughts and opinions based on their perception of reality which may deviate from the media’s reality.

Since only 3% of news documents within this present research were television transcripts (as seen in Table 3), it would be interesting to know whether a sample consisting mainly (or only) of television news stories would have similar findings. A future study could compare attribute agenda setting and framing of hurricane events and Caribbean tourism between various news media formats including radio and television news.

Lastly, a future study could survey people from the source regions to explore whether their risk perception would be amplified by reading news articles such as the ones analyzed in this research. Would consuming news information containing the frames which emerged in this thesis (i.e., victim, apocalyptic, disruption, and business-as-usual) influence their intention to visit a Caribbean island destination or the region as a whole? The researcher hypothesizes that reading articles containing the victim and apocalyptic frames could work to amplify risk perception and negatively influence their intention to visit, while the disruption and business-as- usual frames could work to attenuate tourists’ risk perception and positively influenced their

intention to visit. The only way to know the definitive answers to the questions above is to conduct further research which will help advance understanding of media attribute agenda setting and framing and the influence it has on audiences and thus, arrivals to the Caribbean region.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX A: Media Reporting of Hurricane Category and Wind Speed

Stated Hurricane Category in-text Stated Category Frequency (n) Percent (%) 4 108 47 5 86 37 3 19 8 1 10 4 2 9 4 Total 232 100

Stated Hurricane Wind Speed in-text Wind Speed Saffir–Simpson scale Frequency (n) Percent (%) (km/h) Category 85-150 1 22 9 155-177 3 35 14 185-201 2 28 11 209-250 4 110 44 > 255 5 57 23 Total 252 100

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APPENDIX B: Stakeholder Groups Quoted Within the News Media

Stakeholder groups Stakeholders Frequency (n) Percent (%) Local Government Official 281 44 Tourists 217 34 Tourism-related workers 142 22 Local Resident 98 15 Travel Company 88 14 Meteorological Service 85 13 Police/ Army 20 3 Relief/ Reconstruction Worker 19 3

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APPENDIX C: List of News Media Documents Analyzed

Title Source Year Month

Bahamas Tourism: Yacht Charter on the Islands of Eturbo News 2019 November the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian

BAHAMAS-HURRICANE-Global Tourism Resilience CANA News 2019 November Centre hands provides relief for The Bahamas

BAHAMAS-TOURISM-Grand Bahamas welcomes first set of visitors since CANA News 2019 November Hurricane Dorian

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation hosts Eturbo News 2019 November top-tier media and influencers post-Hurricane Dorian

Caribbean islands hang the 'open for business' sign; Despite active hurricane season, tourist beacon Edmonton Journal (Alberta) 2008 October ready to welcome travellers

Mexico tourists flee hurricane BreakingNews.ie 2011 October

St. Kitts: Final Hurricane tourism update Eturbo News 2017 September

A TALE OF 2 Bahamas One still in ruins, the other Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale) 2019 September welcoming tourists Hurricane Dorian The Aftermath

Cayman Islands to review post Hurricane Ivan BBC Sumary of World Broadcasts 2004 November tourism at conference

Clarification: Hurricane Maria-Tourism story Canadian Press 2017 October

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Havana quickly cleans up for tourists after hurricane. But other areas have a problem; Cuba | The The Miami Herald 2017 October aftermath of Hurricane Irma

Hurricane recovery: Tourism Cares and the Eturbo News 2017 September Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association partner

Hurricane Irma LIVE: Latest travel updates and Express Online 2017 September evacuation news for British tourists

UB40 lead new campaign to encourage tourists back to the Caribbean after Hurricane Irma; Tourism to The Independent (United Kingdom) 2017 December the region has dropped dramatically since September's hurricanes

WATCH: Come back, Brits! UB40 shoot video to Express Online 2017 December boost Caribbean tourism after Hurricane Irma

CARIBBEAN-TOURISM-Hurricane damage CANA News 2017 November significantly impact Caribbean tourism

Times Colonist (Victoria, British Caribbean offering tourists hurricane guarantees 2018 June Columbia)

Hurricane Irma: Tourists left stranded as Hotel Marriott ship rescues only guests, leaves with 200 International Business Times India 2017 September empty seats

COME BACK TO THE CARIBBEAN, DARLING; Fewer tourists after Hurricane Irma didn't put Carolyn Boyd off discovering that Antigua still has The Independent (United Kingdom) 2017 December plenty to offer - just ask UB40 who have launched a campaign to boost numbers

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As tourism returns, hurricane recovery in the Virgin Washington Post Blogs 2018 February Islands is leaving some residents behind

Grand Bahama Tourism Industry begins rebuilding after Hurricane Matthew; Tourism stakeholders GlobeNewswire 2016 October optimistic as work on hotels, resorts and tours underway

CARIBBEAN-TOURISM-Hurricane battered CANA News 2017 October countries still optimistic about the future

Caribbean: Tourism Cares, CHTA set up Caribbean M-Brain Caribbean News 2017 September Hurricane Tourism Recovery Fund

New warning for Britons caught up in the path of Hurricane Irma; Tourist and expats are being told the walesonline.co.uk 2017 September situation could 'deteriorate significantly'

Bahamas updates on business tourism after braving Impact Financial News 2019 October Hurricane Dorian

CARIBBEAN-TOURISM-SOTIC opens against the CANA News 2017 October backdrop of devastation caused by hurricanes

Cruise Caribbean now? Yes.; After 2 hurricanes, Chicago Tribune 2018 January tourism can help with recovery

Hurricane Matthew: Tourism Emergency Operations Eturbo News 2016 October Centre Activated

TOURISM: Puerto Rico is rebounding after ClimateWire 2019 April Hurricane Maria

Cayman Islands Department of Tourism: Official Eturbo News 2017 September Hurricane update

Racial storm: France accused of prioritizing white Postmedia Breaking News 2017 September tourists in hurricane evacuation of St. Martin

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Holidays in the Caribbean; After a brutal hurricane i-Independent Print Ltd 2017 December season, tourism is key to the region's recovery

Dominica Tourism: After Hurricane Maria Eturbo News 2018 September

Cuba's tourism industry to recover after hurricane Global English (Middle East and North 2017 September Irma Africa Financial Network)

UB40 releases new video for hit Come Back Darling as band leads efforts to help Caribbean tourism after mirror.co.uk 2017 December Hurricane Irma; They've teamed up with Virgin Holidays for the campaign

Caribbean Hurricanes Shifting Tourism to Other M2 PressWIRE 2017 November Tropical Destinations

TOPSHOTS Military planes evacuate hurricane-hit Agence France Presse -- English 2017 September tourists to Europe

How 2 Creatives Are Trying to Boost Puerto Rico’s

adweek.com 2018 July Tourism After Hurricane Maria

100,000 FLEE HURRICANE; Tourists ordered to leave Florida holiday islands; Tourists ordered to Daily Record 1998 September leave the Florida Keys to escape Hurricane Georges

Bahamas Ministry Of Tourism Visits Montreal To Provide Tourism Updates And Urge Canadian Travel Market News Publishing 2019 September After Hurricane Dorian

Bahamas Tourism Announcement: Hurricane Eturbo News 2017 September Warnings discontinued for the entire Bahamas

Caribbean islands may soon welcome back tourists CBS - 3 WREG (Memphis, Tennessee) 2017 October after hurricanes

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AFTER HURRICANES, TOURIST HOT SPOTS SAY, `WISH YOU WERE HERE' MANY DESTINATIONS IN THE CARIBBEAN AND Orlando Sentinel (Florida) 2004 October FLORIDA ARE OPEN BUT FIGHTING PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS.

Bracing for a monster hurricane Tourists, islanders The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 2007 August flee Caribbean as Dean bears down

Hurricane Georges tests authorities and tourist The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) 1998 October officials

Montserrat Tourism after Hurricane Irma Eturbo News 2017 September

In the winds' wake How hurricanes affected tourist Chicago Tribune 1992 September sites

Bahamas still open for business; Despite fears after hurricane Dorian, country ready for your tourism Winnipeg Free Press (Canada) 2019 October dollars

An island paradise interrupted: Grenada struggles to The Gazette (Montreal) 2005 December win back tourists after hurricanes

CARIBBEAN TOURISM FEELS HURRICANE Los Angeles Times 1989 September HUGO IMPACT

Puerto Rico Tourism Company Says the Island Is Open for Tourists After Hurricane Irene; Beaches, PR Newswire 2011 August Hotels, Casinos and Airports Are Fully Functional

Thousands ordered off isolated NC island ahead of Hurricane Irene's approach to East Coast; Tourists Canadian Press 2011 August ordered off tiny NC island ahead of Irene

Bahamas seeks aid for its tourism after battering by EFE Newswire - Americas in Focus 2019 September Hurricane Dorian; BAHAMAS HURRICANE

Tourist arrivals jump in Caribbean in 2004 despite Associated Press International 2005 February severe hurricane season

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Grenada tourism industry recovering from hurricane BBC Monitoring Latin America - Political 2005 May damage - tourism head

Official Statement by Haiti Minister of Tourism on Eturbo News 2017 September Hurricane Irma

After Chasing Tourists Away, Hurricane Mitch CNN TODAY 1998 October Churns Along Caribbean Coast

AM-TRAVEL-Log, Bgt ; Budget; See CP Photo CPT 151 (Vertical, shows destroyed yacht), 152 The Canadian Press (CP) 1995 September (Horizontal, crushed hotel); After Hurricane Luis, tourist areas scramble to rebuild for peak season

Stay or go? Officials ponder sending tourists away; The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Indiana) 2011 August Hurricane to hit this weekend

HURRICANES AND TOURISTS AND CHANGE Santa Fe New Mexican (New Mexico) 1995 September

Tourists flee Hurricane Dean; Airports are packed in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, where the storm Los Angeles Times 2007 August is expected to hit today and Monday

Residents, tourists flee Hurricane Dean Record Searchlight (Redding, California) 2007 August

Ulster tourists flee hurricane; Florida braced for Belfast Telegraph 1998 September devastation

British tourists in the Caribbean were today among thousands of people fleeing Hurricane Mitch which Express & Echo (Exeter) 1998 October has battered Honduras' northern coast.

Yucatan tourists flee hurricane The Toronto Star 1995 October

Jamaica to launch advertisement campaign to woo AP Worldstream 2005 August tourists after passage of hurricanes

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Bahamas getting the message out; Tourists asked to 'sustain reconstruction'by returning after Hurricane London Free Press 2019 September Dorian

Florida fears Frances: Weakened storm might pick up again. Hurricane batters tourist hub of Bahamas; The Gazette (Montreal) 2004 September anxiety high in U.S. over its tardy arrival

CARIBBEAN ISLANDS REBUILD TOURISM AFTER The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, 1989 October HURRICANE HUGO TRAVEL ROUNDUP Oregon)

British tourists flee hurricane The Herald (Glasgow) 1995 September

Cancun Tourists Flee Hurricane Chattanooga Free Press (Tennessee) 1995 October

Hurricane Hobbles Tourist Industry at Famous The Associated Press 1988 September Resorts

Cayman Islands impose curfew, evacuate tourists as The Associated Press State & Local 2007 August Hurricane Dean nears Wire

Thousands of tourists stranded in Mexico after NBC News Transcripts NBC Nightly 2005 October Hurricane Wilma News 6:30 PM EST NBC

Eden Rock, a St. Barts Favorite, Reopens Its Doors; The New York Times 2019 October UPDATE

Mexico airlifts tourists after Hurricane Odile Associated Press State & Local 2014 September

Hurricane Beatriz lashes Mexico's tourist west coast Business Recorder 2011 June

Tourist arrivals jump in Caribbean in 2004 despite The Associated Press 2005 February severe hurricane season

Tourists evacuated from hurricane path Irish News 2005 July

Bahamas: Premier outlines recovery efforts for BBC Monitoring Latin America - Political 2004 September tourism after Hurricane Frances

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Bahamas: Premier outlines recovery efforts for BBC Sumary of World Broadcasts 2004 September tourism after Hurricane Frances

Tourists flee hurricane twice; They leave Cancun for Saint Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota) 2005 October Yucatan, only to evacuate again

A better Cancun may rise from wreckage of Hurricane Wilma TOURISM: The storm dealt a devastating blow to Mexico's flagship centre for a Financial Times (London, England) 2005 December sector that is vital to the economy. But the resort stands to reap benefits from the repairs, says Benedict Mander

Travel and Tourism - Grenada M2 PressWIRE 2013 January

TOURISTS FLEE HURRICANE EMILY Daily Post (North Wales) 2005 July

Mexico's tourists fleeing hurricane - CATEGORY Sydney MX (Australia) 2005 October FOUR

Vacations Washed Out by Hurricane, Tourists Flee The Washington Post 1995 October Mexico

Tourist alert as Hurricane Georges threatens Florida Evening Herald (Plymouth) 1998 September

Hurricane zone still open to tourism Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) 2004 October

Tourists take refuge as hurricane Dean approaches Aberdeen Press and Journal 2007 August Jamaica

500,000 told to evacuate homes as tourists flee The Herald (Glasgow) 2004 September Hurricane Ivan

Tropical storm nears hurricane speed: Tourists flee The Ottawa Citizen 2000 August as Caribbean islands prepare for worst

Hurricanes wash tourist traffic to other beaches Calgary Herald (Alberta, Canada) 1995 October

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Caribbean tourists flee Hurricane Luis 'power saw' The Times 1995 September

Hurricane Debby: Nassau Relaxed CNN CNN EARLY EDITION 07:00 2000 August

HURRICANE DEAN Tourists jam Caribbean The Advertiser (Australia) 2007 August airports; Jamaica braces for fury of the storm

DIVI HOTELS ATTRIBUTES SECOND QUARTER LOSS TO SEASONALITY OF CARIBBEAN PR Newswire 1989 December TOURISM, HURRICANE HUGO, PROP

BRITISH TOURISTS FLEE HURRICANE LUIS Press Association 1995 September

Monster hurricane hits coast - Tourists flee resorts The Daily Telegraph (Australia) 2007 August

Hurricane kills tourist The Advertiser 1995 September

Hurricane set to hit Mexico's Caribbean resorts; Kamloops Daily News (British Columbia) 2011 October Tourists crowd into airport to escape

BAHAMAS IS RULED NO-GO FOR TOURISTS; The Mirror 2011 August HURRICANE

ECONOMY-CUBA: HURRICANE DAMAGE WILL IPS-Inter Press Service 2001 November PROLONG CRISIS

MEXICO BUNKERS DOWN FOR HURRICANE Daily Record 2007 August DEAN

Extremely dangerous: Bahamas Ministry of Tourism Eturbo News 2019 August & Aviation issues Hurricane Dorian update

Fall hurricanes damage tourism in Caribbean USA TODAY 1995 November

Fierce storm hits tourist sites; Hurricane Wilma Wilkes Barre Times Leader 2005 October

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TINY NEVIS SUFFERS ONLY LIMITED DAMAGE FROM HURRICANE LUIS; NEVIS PREMIER PR Newswire 1995 September REPORTS BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR THE TOURISM SECTOR

Jamaicans head for the hills as force-five hurricane The Independent (London) 2007 August hits

HURRICANE FORCES TOURISTS HOME; HOLIDAYMAKERS FLOWN HOME FROM The Mirror 1998 September CARIBBEAN BECAUSE OF HURRICANE TOLD THEY CAN RETURN

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism Update on Hurricane Eturbo News 2019 August Dorian and the Islands of the Bahamas

Cancun empties out after Wilma; new tourists to The Associated Press 2005 October reach area within days

Global Broadcast Database - English No Headline In Original 2005 October CHANNEL 6 NEWS 12:00 PM CBS

Tourists flee hurricane Western Daily Press 1998 October

Caribbean hurricane heading for tourist hotspots; Mail on Sunday (London) 2007 August CARIBBEAN

Brits survive Dean's fury The Sun (England) 2007 August

Mexico's islands take a walloping; Hurricane Wilma; Tourist areas featuring reefs and white sand Wilkes Barre Times Leader 2005 October beaches are demolished by the storm.

TOURISTS ESCAPE HURRICANE Belfast News Letter (Northern Ireland) 1998 October

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Kenya : Weathering the storm after Hurricane Dorian TendersInfo 2019 September

WEATHERING THE STORM AFTER HURRICANE States News Service 2019 September DORIAN

The Associated Press State & Local Weekly business briefs from the Caribbean 2000 March Wire

Tempest becomes adventure for some tourists; The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 1999 September HURRICANE FLOYD: THE STORM APPROACHES

Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. Reports Record 2006 Earnings; Company Declares First Quarter Cash PR Newswire US 2007 March Dividend

Dangerous' Hurricane Irene becomes 'big threat' to US as evacuations begin; The sprawling, deadly storm is set to become a Category 4 system after telegraph.co.uk 2011 August roaring over the Bahamas overnight. The entire US East Coast is on alert.

CTO State of the Tourism Industry: The Latest Post- Travel Agent Central 2018 October Hurricane Caribbean Updates

Hurricane Ivan-Tourists Broadcast News (BN) 2004 September

Caribbean Tourism Organization statement on Eturbo News 2019 September Hurricane Dorian

British Virgin Islands Tourist Board: Minimal damage Eturbo News 2019 August from Hurricane Dorian

Jamaicans get ready to take brunt of hurricane Irish News 2007 August

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BRITS FEAR HURRICANE Sunday Mirror 2005 July

Hurricane Rina aimed at Mexico resorts The Bismarck Tribune 2011 October

Global Broadcast Database - English No Headline In Original 2005 October Local News 5:00 AM NBC

Bahamas : Campbell: Bahamas open for tourism TendersInfo 2019 October business despite Dorian

Campbell: Bahamas Open for Tourism Business Targeted News Service 2019 October Despite Dorian

Storm-torn Antigua turns to Grapevine PR Week 1995 October

Bahamas tourism sector activates Hurricane Dorian CE Noticias Financieras English 2019 August emergency plans

Puerto Rico Tourism Company Confirms Major Tourism Infrastructure and Attractions Are Business Wire 2017 September Operational After Hurricane Irma

puerto rico better than before; Once more a hot tourist destination after its recovery from Hurricane The Star (South Africa) 2018 December Maria

United States: U.S. Virgin Islands GDP Decreases in 2017 - Tourism spending declines following Thai News Service 2018 December Hurricanes Irma and Maria

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS GDP DECREASES IN 2017 TOURISM SPENDING DECLINES FOLLOWING States News Service 2019 December HURRICANES IRMA AND MARIA

Caribbean travel update: What to expect one year after Maria and Irma; New tourism products and Breaking News from globeandmail.com 2018 October services are being restored daily in the destinations impacted by last year s hurricanes

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Trinidad and Tobago's tourism sector benefits from influx of cruise passengers, owing to damage to Oxford Business Group: Articles 2018 October other ports during Hurricane Maria

A year later, Puerto Rico beckons; The hurricane- tossed U.S. territory is ready for tourists again - and Newsday (New York) 2018 September there are deals galore to lure visitors

British Virgin Islands Tourism: One year after Eturbo News 2018 September Hurricane Irma

Puerto Rico puts out the welcome mat for tourists; EFE Newswire - Americas in Focus 2018 August PUERTO RICO HURRICANES (Report)

Puerto Rico Tourism Industry Calls For News Coverage Of The Island's Positive Milestones As Global English (Middle East and North 2018 August The One Year Anniversary Of Hurricane Maria Africa Financial Network) Approaches

Puerto Rico Tourism Industry Calls For News Coverage Of The Island's Positive Milestones As Plus Company Updates(PCU) 2018 August The One Year Anniversary Of Hurricane Maria Approaches

Puerto Rico Tourism Industry Calls For News Coverage Of The Island's Positive Milestones As The One Year Anniversary Of Hurricane Maria PR Newswire 2018 August Approaches; Locals across the Island invite travelers to be part of the comeback story

Roundup: Cuba tourism suffers following U.S. travel Xinhua General News Service 2018 August restrictions, hurricanes

Calm after the storm; Anguilla tourism gets back to Edmonton Sun 2018 March normal after hurricane hit

Cuba charms foreign tourism companies, despite CE Noticias Financieras English 2018 May hurricanes and Trump

Despite Hurricanes and Trump, Cuba Retains ASEAN Tribune 2018 May Charm for Foreign Tourism

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Despite Hurricanes and Trump, Cuba Retains Federal NewsFeed 2018 May Charm for Foreign Tourism

Hurricane hit Caribbean lost almost $700million in tourism revenue after islands were lashed by deadly MailOnline 2018 May storms

Hurricanes and Zika virus will impact tourism in the CE Noticias Financieras English 2018 May Caribbean

Hurricanes cost Caribbean tourism more than $700 Agence France Presse -- English 2018 May mn: report

Hurricanes cost Caribbean tourism more than $700 Digital Journal 2018 May mn: report

Puerto Rico ready for tourism to jump-start economy NBC News NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 7:00 2018 April after Hurricane Maria PM EST

Puerto Rico ready for tourism to jump-start economy

NBCNEWS.com 2018 April after Hurricane Maria

Six Months Later, Tourists Haven’t Returned to Puerto Rico; Puerto Rico is attracting barely half as The Village Voice (Online) 2018 March many visitors since Hurricane Maria

Tourism in the Caribbean lost US $ 741 million for CE Noticias Financieras English 2018 May the hurricanes of 2017

Calm after the storm; Anguilla tourism gets back to Toronto Sun 2018 January normal after hurricane hit

Calm after the storm; Anguilla tourism gets back to Calgary Sun 2018 February normal after hurricane hit

Calm after the storm; Anguilla tourism gets back to Winnipeg Sun 2018 January normal after hurricane hit

Cuba tourism slides in wake of Hurricane Irma, Channel NewsAsia 2018 January Trump

Cuba Tourism Slides in Wake of Hurricane Irma, Federal NewsFeed 2018 January Trump Voice of America

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Cuba/United States: Cuba Tourism Slides in Wake Thai News Service 2018 January of Hurricane Irma, Trump

Belarus : MOTA Executes Communications Plan To Protect Critical Tourism Industry After Hurricanes TendersInfo 2017 September Irma And Maria

Caribbean 'needs tourists' to return after Irma; Rebuilding the hurricane-hit islands will take time but The Daily Telegraph (London) 2017 September visitors should not be deterred, says Hugh Morris

Caribbean's Tourism Return Shows It Is Open and Has Something for Everyone; Multifaceted, million- dollar advertising campaign shows successful results of drawing visitors to the Caribbean post- PR Newswire 2017 December hurricanes, and transitions to continue focusing on the more than one million square miles and range of attractions, activities and cultures offering a "Caribbean for Everyone."

Caribbean’s vital tourism industry is in tatters Employees are out of work as long cleanup, repairs Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) 2017 September begin Hurricanes’ aftermath

CARIBBEAN-TOURISM-Caribbean bracing for CANA News 2017 October decline in visitor arrivals due to hurricane damage

Caribbean Tourism Organization issues Hurricane Eturbo News 2017 September Maria update

Caribbean Tourism Organization issues post- Eturbo News 2017 November hurricanes Caribbean update

Caribbean Tourism Takes a Hit After Hurricane Irma The New York Times 2017 September

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Come back, darlings, you're needed; This year's hurricane season caused serious damage to the Caribbean - and its tourist industry. Carolyn Boyd i-Independent Print Ltd 2017 December visited Antigua, which is waiting for travellers to return - with some help from UB40

Cuba: Hurricane Irma devastates Cuba's tourism Thai News Service 2017 September infrastructure

Cuba's top tourism resort braves Hurricane Irma Xinhua General News Service 2017 September

Dominican Republic's tourism infrastructure has not Eturbo News 2017 September suffered material damages due to Hurricane Maria

DOMINICA-TOURISM-Dominica cruise ship sector CANA News 2017 September benefitting from Hurricane Irma

Former Swindon woman hopes for tourists to return Swindon Advertiser 2017 September to her hurricane-hit home

Hurricane Irma devastates Cuba’s tourism ITAR-TASS 2017 September infrastructure

More than 100 'high risk' prisoners escaped on British Virgin Isles after hurricane Irma as islanders MailOnline 2017 September now fight over the last scraps of food and evacuated tourists weep with relief that their hell is over

Official statement from Jamaica Tourist Board on Eturbo News 2017 September hurricane

Puerto Rico Declares It Is Officially Open For Tourism; Just in time for the holidays, December 20 PR Newswire 2017 December marks three months post-Hurricane Maria and a major moment in Puerto Rico's comeback

Puerto Rico diverting travelers booked to Hurricane Eturbo News 2017 September effected Caribbean tourist destinations

Puerto Rico tourism craters in wake of Hurricane Associated Press International 2017 October Maria

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Puerto Rico tourism craters in wake of Hurricane The Associated Press 2017 October Maria

Puerto Rico tourism craters in wake of Hurricane The Philadelphia Tribune 2017 October Maria (Pennsylvania)

Puerto Rico tourism craters in wake of Hurricane Associated Press Financial Wire 2017 October Maria

Puerto Rico tourism craters in wake of Hurricane The Durango Herald (Colorado) 2017 October Maria

Puerto Rico tourism nearly nonexistent more than a The Bradenton Herald (Florida) 2017 October month after Hurricane Maria

Puerto Rico Tourism: What is open, what is closed Eturbo News 2017 September after Hurricane Irma?

Puerto Rico Welcomes Vacationers Post-Hurricane Irma and Becomes Transient Hub for Tourists from Financial Buzz 2017 September Nearby Caribbean Islands

Puerto Rico Welcomes Vacationers Post-Hurricane Irma and Becomes Transient Hub for Tourists from Business Wire 2017 September Nearby Caribbean Islands

Roundup: Cuba tries to recover tourism industry hit Xinhua General News Service 2017 September by hurricane Irma

ST. VINCENT-TOURISM-St. Vincent cruise sector to benefit from hurricane damage to other Caribbean CANA News 2017 October countries.

THE BAHAMAS TOURISM CENTERS ARE FULLY FUNCTIONAL AFTER HURRICANE IRMA AND Financial Buzz 2017 October MARIA

The Cayman Islands Open for Business and Ready to Welcome Guests; The Cayman Islands PR Newswire 2017 September Department of Tourism Provides Destination Update Amid Active Hurricane Season

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This is not a millionaire's playground. The majority here need tourism cash to survive; SCOTS AID WORKER ON CRIPPLING DAMAGE OF Daily Record and Sunday Mail 2017 September HURRICANE IRMA ; Kenny tells us of the urgent need for help on Anguilla after this month's storm

Tourism craters in wake of Hurricane Maria; Puerto Rico just treading water as high season looms.; Dayton Daily News (Ohio) 2017 October PUERTO RICO

Tourism is the key to full recovery from hurricanes Irma and Maria in Caribbean; GUEST The Kansas City Star 2017 December COMMENTARY

Tourists Claim Marriott Rescue Ship Denied Them Consumerist 2017 September Boarding After Hurricane Irma

Tourist tells of hurricane hotel terror Daily Mirror 2017 September

Travel insider; Tourists can help Florida and the Irish Independent 2017 October Caribbean's post-hurricane recovery

UB40 BACK CAMPAIGN TO BRING TOURISTS WENN Entertainment News Wire BACK TO CARIBBEAN AFTER HURRICANE 2017 December Service STRIFE

UB40 fly out to Caribbean in bid to lure tourists back; we joined brum reggae legends in antigua as Birmingham Evening Mail 2017 December hurricane-hit region spreads message that it is open for business again...

UK tourists are evacuated as US begins hurricane Scotsman 2017 September relief efforts

We'll be back'; The mighty winds of Hurricane Irma ransacked many beloved island resorts. Some will The Boston Globe 2017 September close for months; some for good. And the tourism economy the islands rely on is down for the count.

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Advice for Irish tourists caught up in 'catastrophic'

Hurricane Irma; Both Puerto Rico and Florida have irishmirror.ie 2017 September declared states of emergency

Andros Island, Bahamas open for business post Hurricane Matthew; Island prepping for first 160 Marketwired 2016 October Tourists for lavish wedding this week

Anguilla Tourist Board issues advisory on Hurricane Eturbo News 2017 September Irma

Anguilla Tourist Board issues update after Hurricane Eturbo News 2017 September Irma passes through

Brit holidaymakers 'abandoned by Thomson and Thomas Cook' in Caribbean' left to survive on 'handful of sandwiches'; Tourists say they have been

mirror.co.uk 2017 September left on the hurricane hit islands by both travel agent companies - with a lack of information being given to them by staff

British response to Hurricane Irma slammed over 'lack of vision' by Labour MP; Tourists stranded in

affected regions have also complained about a lack birminghammail.co.uk 2017 September of information and assistance from holiday companies

British tourists flown home as hurricane tears The Daily Telegraph (London) 2017 September towards islands

Britons evacuated after Hurricane Irma devastates Caribbean; Expats and tourists have spoken of their Belfast Telegraph Online 2017 September terror at the most powerful storm ever in the Atlantic Ocean.

Brit tourists evacuated as most powerful hurricane Daily Star Online 2017 September EVER to batter Florida and Caribbean

Canadian tourists trapped in Hurricane Irma's path CBC News 2017 September scramble to get out or hunker down

Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association issues Eturbo News 2017 September statement on Hurricane Irma

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CARIBBEAN-TOURISM- CHTA to work with CANA News 2017 September partners following passage of Hurricane Irma

Caribbean Tourism issues first official update on Eturbo News 2017 September Hurricane Irma

Caribbean Tourism: Official update #2 on Hurricane Eturbo News 2017 September Irma

Caribbean Tourism Official Update #6: Hurricane Eturbo News 2017 September warnings lifted for Bahamas

Caribbean Tourism Organization issues statement Eturbo News 2017 September on Hurricane Irma

Cuba evacuates tourists to Varadero what is now Eturbo News 2017 September under surprise attack by Hurricane Irma

Director of Tourism for the British Virgin Islands Eturbo News 2017 September issues statement on Hurricane Irma

Exclusive: Watch as British tourists are 'abandoned'

telegraph.co.uk 2017 September on hurricane island as US airlifts its citizens to safety

Frantic British tourist tells of 'sonic boom noises' as he cowers in concrete stairwell of luxury St Maarten MailOnline 2017 September hotel to avoid 'apocalyptic' 185mph winds as strongest EVER hurricane hits Caribbean

Hurricane, earthquake strands Perth tourists WA Today 2017 September

Hurricane, earthquake strands Perth tourists Canberra Times Online 2017 September

Hurricane, earthquake strands Perth tourists The Age (Melbourne, Australia) - Online 2017 September

Hurricane Irma: Air Transat airlifts all tourists from Eturbo News 2017 September the Dominican Republic to Canada

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Hurricane Irma: As holidaymakers complain, spare a thought for the locals; British tourists may have to fly The Independent (United Kingdom) 2017 September home from a ruined holiday, but for many Cuban locals, there's no escape

Hurricane Irma: French rescue planes 'refuse to take Express Online 2017 September Brit tourists' stranded in Caribbean

Hurricane Irma: Get ready to flee, British tourists told

standard.co.uk 2017 September as storm is set to 'devastate' Florida

Hurricane Irma latest: British tourist airlifted to Express Online 2017 September Puerto Rico by US rescuers

Hurricane Irma: the travel implications for tourists as storm heads towards Caribbean; Airlines and holiday The Independent (United Kingdom) 2017 September companies' responses varydramatically

Hurricane Irma: the travel implications for tourists as storm heads towards Caribbean; Britain's biggest The Independent (United Kingdom) 2017 September holiday companies have different responses to the crisis

Hurricane Irma to affect tourism industry in Global English (Middle East and North 2017 September Caribbean Africa Financial Network)

It's official: Montserrat Tourism untouched from Eturbo News 2017 September Hurricane Irma

Official British Virgin Island Announcement on Eturbo News 2017 September Tourism Situation after Hurricane Irma

Pray as this island is decimated': US tourists - including Jerry Falwell's brother Jonathan - find MailOnline 2017 September themselves stranded in the path of Hurricane Irma after planes from Caribbean are canceled

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PRAY FOR US; Brit tourist's frantic plea amid Hurricane Irma Buildings are obliterated by 185mph Daily Mirror 2017 September winds

PRAY FOR US; Brit tourist's frantic plea amid Hurricane Irma Three dead as 185mph winds batter Daily Mirror 2017 September islands

Puerto Rico Tourism Infrastructure Operational After Airline Industry Information 2017 September Hurricane Irma

Rebuilding after 'apocalyptic' hurricane hit to Haiti's The Miami Herald 2016 November struggling tourism market

Russian Tourists Evacuated as Hurricane Irma Sputnik News Service 2017 September Batters Cuba – Embassy

Russian tourists evacuated from Cuban resorts ITAR-TASS 2017 September because of Hurricane Irma

Stranded by Irma: British tourists are desperate to get home after being 'abandoned' by travel firms in MailOnline 2017 September the wake of deadly hurricane

THOUSANDS of Brits evacuated from Cuba by Thomas Cook after Hurricane Irma; A number of UK

birminghammail.co.uk 2017 September tourists have complained about a lack of information and access to resort reps

Long Beach Press-Telegram (Long Tourism, agriculture businesses brace for hurricane 2017 September Beach, CA)

Tourism, agriculture businesses brace for Hurricane Torrance Daily Breeze (California) 2017 September Irma's impact

Tourists evacuate as Category 5 Hurricane Irma Agence France Presse -- English 2017 September nears Caribbean

Tourists evacuate as Hurricane Irma nears Siasat Daily (India) 2017 September Caribbean island

Tourists evacuated ahead of hurricane The Gazette (Montreal) 2017 September

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Tourists left 'stranded' in Hurricane Irma after Marriott boat refuses to rescue anyone but guests; As 185mph winds unleashed devastation across the

mirror.co.uk 2017 September tropical islands, holiday makers were astonished when staff onboard said they could not accommodate those who had not booked a stay

Tourists return to Montreal on emergency flights Postmedia Breaking News 2017 September ahead of Hurricane Irma

TOURIST TRAP; British travellers flying home early from tropical getaways may complain about ruined The Independent - Daily Edition 2017 September holidays, but for Cuban locals, there's no escaping Hurricane Irma, says Simon Calder

Turks and Caicos Tourism urges visitors to leave Eturbo News 2017 September ahead of Hurricane Irma

Welsh tourist's close encounter with hurricane South Wales Echo 2017 September

Welsh tourists shelter in hotel theatre to escape Hurricane Irma; A photographer has described how

walesonline.co.uk 2017 September the Category Five storm hit his Dominican Republic holiday resort

What did Hurricane Irma do to Grenada Tourism? Eturbo News 2017 September

World famous Princess Juliana St Maarten Airport where planes fly just above tourists' heads devastated by Hurricane Irma; The 185mph storm

irishmirror.ie 2017 September ripped through the airport today, destroying safety fences and battering nearby Maho beach

World famous Princess Juliana St Maarten Airport where planes fly just above tourists' heads devastated by Hurricane Irma; The 185mph storm

mirror.co.uk 2017 September ripped through the airport today, destroying safety fences and battering nearby Maho beach

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You're on your OWN' Brit tourists caught up in Daily Star Online 2017 September Hurricane Irma given stark warning

Hurricane Cristobal kills five people in the Caribbean

as it moves towards Bermuda; The torrential rain Independent.co.uk 2014 August has affected tourism on the popular islands

BAHAMAS BRACING FOR HURRICANE ABC News Transcript GOOD MATTHEW; THOUSANDS OF TOURISTS & 2016 October MORNING AMERICA 7:02 AM EST RESIDENTS EVACUATING

Bahamas Ministry Of Tourism Fully Activates For GlobeNewswire 2016 October Hurricane Matthew

Bahamas Ministry Of Tourism Fully Activates For Financial Buzz 2016 October Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Patricia on track to ravage one of Mexico's

Mashable.com 2015 October top tourism destinations

Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board and Paradise Island Tourism Development Association Entertainment Close-Up 2016 October Donate $10K to Bahamas Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund

North tourists trapped by Cuba hurricane; IN BRIEF Evening Chronicle 2016 October

Hurricane Ike tosses Caribbean tourism for a loop; Hurricane Ike is lashing out at the Caribbean's The Miami Herald 2008 September tourism infrastructure and has forced cruise lines and airlines to redraw their plans.

Fed-up tourists fight to get out of tony resorts; Five days after Hurricane Wilma struck Mexico's tourism The Miami Herald 2005 October hot spots, stranded tourists fought for seats on airplanes and buses out of the resorts.; MEXICO

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Escape: After the hurricane: Cancun gets back in its feet after Wilma: Last October a devastating hurricane wiped out much of Mexico's east coast. The Observer (London) 2006 June Nine months on, after a massive clean-up operation, the tourists have started trickling back. Gaby Wood reports on the recovery of the 'Riviera Maya'

HURRICANE HAVOC: Following the devastation of Hurricane Luis, Caribbean islands are struggling to rebuild their shattered tourist industries. Everything The Financial Post (Toronto, Canada) 1995 September may be back to normal by Christmas -- but more storms are brewing

Tourists leave, island residents evacuate as Hurricane Rina closes in on Mexico resorts; Cancun Canadian Press 2011 October area resorts empty as hurricane approaches

False reports hit region's tourist trade: With £7.5 billion annual tourism income at stake, publicists are The Weekly Journal 1995 September desperate to scotch exaggerated stories of hurricane damage

Jamaica's tourism industry looks to the future as eye of Hurricane Ivan skirts the island; Majority of tourist Canada NewsWire 2004 September areas suffer little damage

Jamaica's tourism industry looks to the future as eye of Hurricane Ivan skirts the island; Majority of tourist PR Newswire 2004 September areas suffer little damage

2ND ROUNDUP: Hurricane Wilma slams jewel of Deutsche Presse-Agentur 2005 october Mexico's tourism

13,000 TOURISTS FLEE AS HURRICANE HITS Sunday Mail 2007 August CARIBBEAN

30,000 tourists flee as Mexico hurricane threatens to Western Morning News (Plymouth) 2005 July hit

160MPH TERROR; THOUSANDS OF BRITISH The Mirror 2004 September TOURISTS FLEE AS HURRICANE IVAN LOOMS

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160MPH TERROR; Thousands of British tourists The Mirror (London, England) 2004 September flee as hurricane Ivan looms; News

560,000 FLEE AS HURRICANE HITS CUBA; MICHELLE HEADS FOR TOURIST RESORT Lexington Herald Leader (Kentucky) 2001 November FLORIDA KEYS EVACUATED

1000 Britons flee as hurricane roars in; Tourists evacuated as 150mph killer winds head for Jamaica Evening Times (Glasgow) 2004 September and Cuba

A blow to your holiday plans? Forecasts suggest a 'busier-than normal' hurricane season in the The Daily Telegraph (LONDON) 2006 June Caribbean. Philip Eden considers what that might mean for tourists

A CHANGING MEXICO; THE RECOVERY; Cancun, rebuilt and showing off; Last year's hurricane swallowed beaches and scared off visitors. But Los Angeles Times 2006 November Yucatan resorts are back, upgraded and awaiting tourists.

Ad and Conferences: Rum days over for Jamaica - After the vast destruction caused by Hurricane Marketing 1990 June Gilbert, Jamacia is rebuilding its tourist trade and its image as a suitable business venue

After Hurrican Dean: Jamaica open for business; The Weekly Gleaner 2007 August Tourism Minister assures visitors

After Hurrican Dean: Jamaica open for business; New York Beacon 2007 August Tourism Minister assures visitors

Alarm as mighty Hurricane Dean heads for Mexico's Associated Press International 2007 August tourist, oil sites

NBC News Transcripts Today 7:00 AM American tourists stranded in Cancun after hurricane 2005 October EST NBC

AM-Hurricane-Mitch, ; UPDATES with info on The Canadian Press (CP) 1998 October Canadian tourists, storm weakening, location

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Anguilla's tourism market recovers to pre-hurricane Associated Press International 1997 April levels

Anguilla's tourism market recovers to pre-hurricane Associated Press International 1997 April levels *REPLACE*

ANTIGUA, I TELL YOU!: The island is well over last year's hurricane damage, and the word on the street The Financial Post (Toronto, Canada) 1997 January is that tourists are now welcome back

Areas hit by hurricanes aren't closed to tourists Ventura County Star (California) 2004 November

As Floyd blasts Bahamas, tourists take cover; Hurricane's winds down trees and power lines, rip THE BALTIMORE SUN 1999 September roofs off homes

Back to Life: Islands rush to repair hurricane The Voice 1999 December damage in time for tourist influx

BAHAMIANS BRACE FOR HURRICANE'S FURY; ISLANDS LIE IN PATH OF GIANT STORM; MOST Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 2004 September TOURISTS DECIDE TO LEAVE

BELIZE HURRICANE KILLS 19 TOURISTS ON The Independent (London) 2001 October DIVING HOLIDAY

Bermudan businessman counting losses; tourism hit BBC Sumary of World Broadcasts 2003 September after hurricane

BERTHA MOVING IN ON CARIBBEAN ISLANDS FIRST HURRICANE SENDS RESIDENTS, San Jose Mercury News (California) 1996 July TOURISTS SCRAMBLING

BONNIE SCARES TOURISTS HOME; BAHAMIANS TAKE PRECAUTIONS BEFORE HURRICANE Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 1998 August BRUSHES PAST

BRACING FOR STORM OF TOURISTS; CARIBBEAN ISLES NEARLY RECOVERED FROM Lexington Herald Leader (Kentucky) 2004 December HURRICANES

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Brakes put on getaways; For tourists fleeing Cancun ahead of Hurricane Wilma, their shelter at one of the The Miami Herald 2005 October most luxurious places on the Maya Riviera came to an abrupt halt.; MEXICO

Bring on tourists, says rebuilt Cancún; HURRICANE San Jose Mercury News (California) 2006 December DAMAGE LARGELY REPAIRED

British tourists flee as hurricane hits Jamaica Aberdeen Evening Express 2007 August

BRITISH TOURISTS FLEE FROM HURRICANE Daily Post (North Wales) 2004 September

British tourists flee from hurricane; News Daily Post (Liverpool, England) 2004 September

BRITISH TOURISTS IN PATH OF HURRICANE Birmingham Post 2005 July

BRITISH TOURISTS RETURNING HOME AFTER Press Association 2005 October MEXICO HURRICANE

BRITISH TOURISTS SET TO FACE HURRICANE Press Association 2004 September IVAN

BRITISH TOURISTS STAY TO FACE HURRICANE Daily Post (North Wales) 2004 September

British tourists stay to face hurricane; News Daily Post (Liverpool, England) 2004 September

British tourists take refuge as hurricane slams into Aberdeen Press and Journal 2007 August Jamaica

BRIT TOURISTS STUCK IN HURRICANE HELL; Daily Record 2005 October THOUSANDS FLEE AS STORM SWEEPS IN

BRIT TOURISTS STUCK IN HURRICANE HELL; Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) 2005 October Thousands flee as storm sweeps in; News

Cancun bounces back with bigger beaches A year after Hurricane Wilma wrecked this tourist town, tons St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri) 2006 October of white sand have been pumped in, doubling the size of the coastline.

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Cancun Escapes the Brunt of Hurricane Emily; Up and Running and Ready to Receive National and Canadian Corporate Newswire 2005 July International Tourists

Cancun Escapes the Brunt of Hurricane Emily; Up and Running and Ready to Receive National and Business Wire 2005 July International Tourists

Cancun hotels, tourists get ready as Ida strengthens The Canadian Press(CP) 2009 November into hurricane over Caribbean

Cancun in ruins; looters strike; Hurricane Wilma clobbers Cancun, Mexico, leaving the tourism The Miami Herald 2005 October industry in ruins and forcing police to take to the streets.; MEXICO

Cancún still a mess from hurricane; RECOVERY DRAGGING; EXTENT OF DAMAGE DETERRING San Jose Mercury News (California) 2005 December TOURISTS

Cancún struggles to heal from storm; Tourists are in short supply as Cancún struggles to bounce back The Miami Herald 2005 December after Hurricane Wilma. A Dec. 15 goal by the president will not be met.

Caribbean beckons tourists: Not all vacation spots Windsor Star (Ontario) 2004 November struck by hurricanes

Caribbean islands recovering from storm Some tourists were stuck in their rooms, but hurricane's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin) 1999 December damage was scattered

CARIBBEAN ISLANDS WORK TO RECOVER Philadelphia Inquirer (PA) 1995 October FROM HURRICANES, PREPARE FOR TOURISTS

CARIBBEAN ISLES, FLA. TELL TOURISTS TO COME BACK: AFTER HURRICANE, MEDIA AD Advertising Age 1998 October BLITZES WOO TRAVELERS WARY OF CHAOS

Caribbean officials fear increase in hurricanes could AP Worldstream 2005 October scare off tourists

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Caribbean tourism mostly unscathed this hurricane The Calgary Herald (Alberta) 2008 October season

Caribbean tourism officials meet in Aruba to discuss recovery from busy hurricane season among other Associated Press International 2004 October issues

Caribbean tourist spot devastated after Hurricane THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS 1995 September Luis strikes region

Cayman Set For Rebound; With All Hurricane Damage Reports Assessed, Cayman's Tourism PR Newswire US 2004 October Partners Work Together for Revitalization

CHANTAL SWIRLS IN AT NEAR-HURRICANE FORCE MEXICANS PREPARE SHELTERS FOR Charlotte Observer (North Carolina) 2004 August RESIDENTS, THOUSANDS OF TOURISTS

Confusion, frustration among tourists as Dean EFE Newswire - Americas in Focus 2007 August menaces Yucatan; MEXICOHURRICANE (Feature)

CRUISE LINES, OFFICIALS, TOURISTS MAKE PLANS AS HURRICANE WATCH IS ISSUED The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia) 2001 August FROMCANCUN TO BELIZE

Cuba: Little damage reported to tourism industry BBC Sumary of World Broadcasts 2004 September after Hurricane Ivan

Cuban tourism industry moves fast to recover from Winnipeg Free Press (Canada) 2008 November hurricanes' wrath

Deadly Wilma lashes Mexican resort area: Residents, tourists wait in shelters for hurricane to The Calgary Herald (Alberta) 2005 October pass

Dean begins assault on Mexico; Tourists flee as Chicago Tribune 2007 August hurricane grows to Category 5

DEAN GETS MEAN; TOURIST TERROR AS The Mirror 2007 August HURRICANE BATTERS JAMAICA`

DEAN GETS MEAN; TOURIST TERROR AS The Mirror (London, England) 2007 August HURRICANE BATTERS JAMAICA`

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Dominican Republic Tourism Rebounds From Business Wire 1998 November Hurricane

Dominican Republic: Tourists scramble out of path Tulsa World (Oklahoma) 2007 August of Hurricane Dean

Emily ready to pound Cancun: Tourists stream out of luxury beachside resorts and head inland as 2005 July The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia) hurricane's outer winds lash Yucatan peninsula

Expedia, Inc. Promotes Mexican Caribbean Recovery Post Hurricane Wilma by Launching $500,000 Marketing Program and Participating in Local Area Economic Development Projects; Expedia Revitalizing Tourism to Cancun, Cozumel, PR Newswire 2006 March and Riviera Maya and Introducing World Heritage Alliance to the Area to Promote Responsible Travel to the World Heritage Sites in the Area and Throughout Mexico

EXTRA: Tourists prepare to leave as Hurricane Ike Deutsche Presse-Agentur 2008 September draws closer

Fast recovery for Cancun; NEW TOURISTS BEING FLOWN IN THIS WEEKEND TO RESORTS LESS San Jose Mercury News (California) 2005 October DAMAGED BY HURRICANE

Ferocious Wilma whips through Cozumel, Cancún Category 4 hurricane bashes Mexico Thousands of THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS 2005 October tourists, residents stranded in 140 mph winds

Grenada tourism faces one-two punch from Edmonton Journal (Alberta) 2009 April hurricane, economy

Grenada: Tourism minister says post-hurricane BBC Sumary of World Broadcasts 2004 September reconstruction work going well

Hawaii Tourist Industry Gets Unexpected Boost from The Associated Press 1988 September Hurricane Gilbert

Honduras tourism bounces back from Hurricane The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 1999 January Mitch

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HOW HURRICANE HAS AFFECTED TOURIST Orlando Sentinel (Florida) 1998 September SPOTS

How Will Tourism Be Affected After Hurricane CNN NEWS 1992 August Andrew?

Hundreds of Scots tourists trapped in eye of hurricane; Wilma wreaks havoc as its 150mph winds The Herald (Glasgow) 2005 October batter Mexico

Hurricane an adventure for some tourists in Nassau The Associated Press 1999 September

The Associated Press State & Local Hurricane an adventure for some tourists in Nassau 1999 September Wire

Hurricane an adventure for some tourists in Nassau The Associated Press Online 1999 September

Hurricane batters islands, killing at least seven people , Storm could hurt tourist season in the Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia) 1999 November region

Hurricane batters main tourist hub in Bahamas; Nassau escapes major damage, while Freeport is Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA) 2004 September expected to take a direct hit

Hurricane Beatriz lashes Mexico's tourist west coast Agence France Presse -- English 2011 June

Hurricane Bertha blows big discounts to Caribbean USA TODAY 1996 July tourists

HURRICANE BLOWS INTO THE CARIBBEAN; SCHOOLS CLOSED; AIRPORTS CROWDED AS SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER 2000 August TOURISTS FLEE BY MARVIN HOKSTAMTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hurricane continues to pound Caribbean; Tourists, Monterey County Herald 2005 October residents trapped in buildings

Hurricane Dean approaches; Residents hunker The Vancouver Province (British 2007 August down while tourists flood airports Columbia)

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Hurricane Dean hits Caribbean; Tourists in Jamaica, Caymen Islands jam airports to try escaping monster The News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida) 2007 August storm

Hurricane Dean picks up steam, tourists panic everal Caribbean islands are bracing for the Category 4 St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri) 2007 August storm, which is expected to hit Sunday.

Hurricane Dean spares almost all tourist spots Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 2007 August

Hurricane Dean threatens islands; Tourists line up to The Times Union (Albany, New York) 2007 August flee Jamaica, Cayman isles as system strengthens

Hurricane Dennis kills 4 in Haiti; Florida Keys Monterey County Herald 2005 July evacuate tourists

HURRICANE DENNIS NEARS BAHAMAS, MAY HIT TODAY; RESIDENTS, TOURISTS PREPARE Saint Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota) 1999 August FOR STORM

Hurricane did little damage to tourism sites Orange County Register (California) 1992 September

HURRICANE EMILY LANDS IN MEXICAN VACATION SPOTS; FOREIGN TOURISTS CHECK Lexington Herald Leader (Kentucky) 2005 July INTO SHELTERS

HURRICANE EMILY; Resorts in Yucatan hold up under major storm's fury; But it was no holiday for The Houston Chronicle 2005 July tourists tapped in shelters

Hurricane Emily speeds toward Yucatan peninsula; Thousands of offshore oil workers, residents and Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA) 2005 July tourists are evacuated

HURRICANE ERIN PASSES THE ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS; NO MAJOR DAMAGE PR Newswire 1995 August SUSTAINED; ALL TOURISM FACILITIES FULLY OPERATIONAL

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Hurricane Erin spares Bermuda serious damage; The Associated Press State & Local 2001 September brings heavy rain, strands tourists Wire

Hurricane Floyd: 'The Winds Are Just Unbelievable,' CNN CNN MORNING NEWS 09:00 am 1999 September Says Bahamas Tourist ET

Hurricane-hit Grand Cayman reopens to tourists THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON) 2004 November

HURRICANE HITS ISLAND OF COZUMEL; THOUSANDS OF TOURISTS FLEE YUCATAN Saint Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota) 1995 October PENINSULA

Hurricane hits paradise island Tourists battle to Gloucestershire Echo 1999 November protect hotel during storm

Hurricane Hurts Island's Tourism Associated Press International 1999 December

Hurricane Ike heads for Cuba after leaving dozens Times Colonist (Victoria, British dead in Haiti; Tourists at Cuban resorts moved to 2008 September Columbia) safety inland as Florida Keys evacuated

Hurricane Ike tosses tourism industry The Miami Herald 2008 September

Hurricane Impact on Florida and Caribbean Tourism Business Wire 2004 October May Extend into 2005 According to New Survey

HURRICANE IRENE CHASES TOURISTS; MANY SCRAMBLE TO LEAVE THE BAHAMAS AS Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 2011 August STORM HEADS FOR ISLAND CHAIN

Hurricane Iris hits the coast of Belize; Residents and tourists sought safety. Dozens of homes were The Philadelphia Inquirer 2001 October damaged by the Category 4 storm.

Hurricane kills 32 in Honduras; Tourists in Cancun flee stalling Mitch; Material from the Associated The Boston Globe 1998 October Press was used in this report.

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Hurricane lashes Bahamas' tourist hub; Nassau The Record (Bergen County, NJ) 2004 September skyscrapers' windows shattered; 1 killed

Hurricane lashes coast; Six killed in Belize as tourist Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia) 2001 October boat sinks

Hurricane leaves trail of devastation; Tourists exit The Herald (Glasgow) 2005 October storm shelters after Wilma leaves Cancun

Hurricane Lenny destroys 10 boats and leaves Associated Press International 1999 November tourists stranded in Venezuela

Hurricane Lenny hurt St. Maarten's vital tourist trade, Austin American-Statesman (Texas) 1999 December * As island

Hurricane Luis bearing down on Caribbean Tourist THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS 1995 September drowns while trying to photograph churning seas

HURRICANE LUIS CLAIMS TOURIST IN Charlotte Observer (North Carolina) 1995 September GUADELOUPE

HURRICANE LUIS DESTROYS HOSPITAL; Charleston Gazette (West Virginia) 1995 September TOURISTS FLEE

Hurricane Luis havoc to be fixed in time for tourists The Ottawa Citizen 1995 September

Hurricane Luis shatters tourism dream THE AUSTRALIAN 1995 September

HURRICANE LUIS SPARES PUERTO RICO; No Serious Damage Affects the Tourism Industry and PR Newswire 1995 September Most Hotels are Fully Operational Today

Hurricane Luis wrecked Caribbean tourist haven The Baltimore Sun 1995 September

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NPR All Things Considered All Things Hurricane Marilyn Smashes Virgin Islands Tourism 1995 September Considered (NPR 4:30 pm ET)

Hurricane Mitch: Cancun Businesses Suffered as CNN CNN MORNING NEWS 09:00 am 1998 October Tourists Fled ET

Hurricane Paula heads for Mexican tourist coast Agence France Presse 2010 October

HURRICANE PLAYS HAVOC WITH TOURISTS; 2 The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) 1999 September MILLION FLEE FLOYD

Hurricane ravages islands CARIBBEAN: Lenny hits Ventura County Star (California) 1999 November just as area entering high tourist season.

Hurricane ravages islands, tourist season Tulsa World (Oklahoma) 1999 November

Hurricane report: Most tourist areas open The Miami Herald 2007 August

Hurricane Rina roars towards Mexican tourist resorts BreakingNews.ie 2011 October

Hurricane Rina weakens after tourists flee resorts The Star-Ledger 2011 October

Hurricane Sandy: Six French tourists missing from MailOnline 2012 October boat after attending Caribbean music festival

Hurricanes, Drop in Tourism Hurt Cuba's Economy, Voice of America News 2002 December Says Official

HURRICANE SEVERS A PIECE OF ISLAND; ON BARBUDA, LUIS DESTROYED 95 PERCENT OF Orlando Sentinel (Florida) 1995 September THE BUILDINGS AND DEALT A SERIOUS BLOW TO THE ISLAND'S TOURIST INDUSTRY.

HURRICANE'S IMPACT LINGERS; VIRGIN ISLANDS TRYING TO PICK UP PIECES, REBUILD Orlando Sentinel (Florida) 1995 December TOURISM INDUSTRY

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Hurricanes' impact on tourism spotty The Patriot Ledger 1998 November

Hurricane-struck St. Lucia's only option is to bounce The Globe and Mail 2010 November back;If tourism hot spot doesn't rebound, comm

Hurricane threatens Caribbean islands;Residents Kansas City Star 1995 September prepare for 700-mile-wide storm. Tourists try to flee

HURRICANE THREATENS RESORT AREAS Tourists flee coast in Roxanne's path Some remain Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Wisconsin) 1995 October despite forecaster's warnings of dangerous storm'

Hurricane threat to British tourists The Irish Times 1998 October

Hurricane 'to hit tourist resorts in Mexico' The Irish News 2011 October

HURRICANE TRAPS BRITONS; Tourists flee as Western Daily Press 1998 September hundreds die in storm havoc

Hurricane traps sun isle Britons; JAMAICA Tourists Birmingham Evening Mail 2007 August huddle in shelters as 150mph storm strikes

Hurricane traps sun isle Britons; JAMAICA: Tourists Birmingham Mail (England) 2007 August huddle in shelters as 150mph storm strikes; News

HURRICANE UPDATE; CARIBBEAN ISLANDS Chicago Tribune 1995 November ARE READY FOR TOURIST SEASON

Hurricane Wilma ends party for thousands of tourists The Associated Press 2005 October in Cancun

Hurricane Wilma hits Mexico as tourists cower Agence France Presse -- English 2005 October

Hurricane Wilma lashes Caribbean: Tourists scurry Times Colonist (Victoria, British to leave Mexican resort areas as Honduras, Cuba, 2005 October Columbia) Haiti evacuate some residents

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Hurricane Wilma lashes Cozumel, Cancun, The Associated Press 2005 October thousands of tourists stranded in shelters

Hurricane Wilma lashes Cozumel, Cancun, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) 2005 October thousands of tourists stranded in shelters

Hurricane Wilma lashes Cozumel, Cancun; The Associated Press 2005 October thousands of tourists stranded in shelters

Hurricane Wilma slams coastlines as tourists flee Kamloops Daily News (British Columbia) 2005 October

HURRICANE WILMA TRAPS TOURISTS FROM Baltic News Service 2005 October LITHUANIA

HURRICANE WILMA;Wilma's fury leaves Cancun battered;With resort's high season just ahead, it may The Houston Chronicle 2005 October take 6 months to get ready for tourists

International: Mexico braces for Hurricane Dean as battered Jamaica declares state of emergency: Tourists swamp airports as storm approaches: The Guardian - Final Edition 2007 August Yucatan Nine killed as winds swept through Caribbean

Irene expected to intensify; East Coast officials brace for hurricane's arrival and debate what to tell Los Angeles Times 2011 August tourists.

Islands battered as Floyd comes ashore; HURRICANE DRAMA: British tourists trapped in Bath Chronicle 1999 September storm zone

ISLANDS ON ALERT, TOURISTS EVACUATE AS Palm Beach Post (Florida) 2007 August DEAN REACHES HURRICANE FORCE

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Islands open for business: After hurricanes, real National Post 2004 October damage may come from tourists staying away

Jamaica Dusts Off the Welcome Mat; Three months after Hurricane Gilbert blew through, the island's tourism industry has nearly completed the job of Newsday (New York) 1988 December rebuilding - just in time for high season. AT A GLANCE

Jamaica's tourism bouncing back after Hurricane Caribbean Today 2004 October Ivan

Jamaica's tourism bouncing back after Hurricane El Caribe de Hoy 2004 November Ivan

The Xinhua General Overseas News jamaica's tourism industry recovers from hurricane 1989 September ServiceXinhua General News Service

Let's get out of here; Panic in Mexico as tourists fly The Evening Standard (London) 2007 August away from hurricane

LIFE IS A BEACH? NOT IN CANCUN; AFTER HURRICANE WILMA TOOK ITS SAND, AS WELL AS HOTELS AND SHOPS, THE RESORT CITY The Miami Herald 2005 November SEEKS A COMEBACK FOR ITSELF AND FOR MEXICO'S TOURISM INDUSTRY

Little hope for Dominica tourism, as islands recover The Globe and Mail (Canada) 1979 December from hurricanes

MAJOR BAHAMAS TOURIST AREAS EMERGE VIRTUALLY UNSCATHED FROM THE EFFECTS Canada NewsWire 1992 August OF HURRICANE ANDREW

Martinique Tourism Industry Withstands Hurricane Dean; Hotels Report Minor Cosmetic Damage; Business Wire 2007 August Airport Re-Opened Saturday, August 18

Mersey tourists in path of hurricane;Killer Dean Daily Post (North Wales) 2007 August increases in ferocity

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Mersey tourists in path of hurricane; Killer Dean Daily Post (Liverpool, England) 2007 August increases in ferocity; News

Metro tourists relive the fright of Hurricane Hugo's The Toronto Star 1989 September 'war zone'

Mexican authorities evacuating tourists, residents as Associated Press International 2007 August Hurricane Dean approaches

Mexican Tourist Centres on Alert for Hurricane Ivan IHS Global Insight 2004 September

MEXICO BRACES FOR TROPICAL STORM CHANTAL CRUISE LINES, OFFICIALS, TOURISTS The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia) 2001 August MAKE PLANS AS HURRICANE WATCH IS ISSUED FROMCANCUN TO BELIZE

Mexico bulking up Cancún beachfront; Hurricane savaged shoreline - Tourist resort getting infusion of The Seattle Times 2006 February sand

Mexico Evacuates In Storm's Path; Hurricane Dean; National Post 2007 August Oil Rigs Cleared, Tourists Flee Yucatan Resorts

Mexico plans possible evacuation of tourists from AP Worldstream 2005 July Cancun as Hurricane Emily advances

Mexico rejoices over minor damage Tourism THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS 2007 August resumes as coast cleans up after Hurricane Dean

Mexico Tourism Rises Despite Hurricanes Associated Press Online 2006 February

MEXICO TOURIST ZONE BRACES FOR Aberdeen American News (South 2011 October HURRICANE RINA Dakota)

MONSTER'S EYE; BRITISH TOURISTS SHELTER AS KILLER HURRICANE BATTERS HOLIDAY The Mirror 2007 August ISLAND

MONSTER'S EYE; British tourists shelter as killer The Mirror (London, England) 2007 August hurricane batters holiday island; News

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The Associated Press State & Local More tourists travel to Mexico, despite hurricanes 2006 February Wire

More tourists travel to Mexico, despite hurricanes Associated Press Financial Wire 2006 February

More tourists travel to Mexico, despite hurricanes The Associated Press 2006 February

More tourists travel to Mexico, despite hurricanes Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) 2006 February

More tourists travel to Mexico, despite hurricanes Associated Press International 2006 February

Most Caribbean resorts bounce back after killer hurricanes The restoration of tourist facilities has The Globe and Mail (Canada) 1998 November been fast and furious. Even tour packages from Canada to Nicaragua will go ahead as planned

Most tourist areas hit by hurricanes are back in The Toronto Star 1992 September business

My hurricane holiday hell; How a tourist was left to brave a 160mph storm with a sandwich, candles and Western Daily Press 1998 October water

NARROW ESCAPE FROM HURRICANE; Relief as Birmingham Evening Mail (England) 1998 September tourists avoid 105mph storm in Florida.

NARROW ESCAPE FROM HURRICANE; RELIEF AS TOURISTS AVOID 105MPH STORM IN Birmingham Evening Mail 1998 September FLORIDA

North tourists stranded by hurricane THE JOURNAL (Newcastle, UK) 1998 September

Paradise, interrupted: One year after hurricane Ivan, The Calgary Herald (Alberta) 2005 November gorgeous Grenada is ready for tourists

Paradise on sale; Caribbean resorts offer bargain to The Houston Chronicle 2004 November lure tourists scared off by a rough hurricane season

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POWERFUL HURRICANE THREATENS TO HURT Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 2004 September ECONOMICALLY VITAL TOURISM

PUERTO RICO HOTELS & TOURISM MAKE QUICK COMEBACK IN THE WAKE OF PR Newswire 1989 October HURRICANE HUGO

PUERTO-RICO/HUGO; Puerto Rico hotels and tourism make quick comeback in the wake of Business Wire 1989 October Hurricane Hugo

PUERTO-RICO/HUGO; Travel update No. 2; report on tourism developments in Puerto Rico after Business Wire 1989 September Hurricane Hugo

Rebuilding boom puts Grenada back on map; In the wake of back-to-back hurricanes, Grenada is The Miami Herald 2007 April reinventing itself as a laid-back but sophisticated tourism destination for second-home buyers.

Rebuilding Cancun; The tourist paradise, whose beaches were washed away by Hurricane Wilma, Los Angeles Times 2005 November has turned into a huge construction site as the resort city rushes to restore its main industry.

Relief From a Hurricane;Jamaica rebuilds, beckons Newsday (New York) 1988 October to tourists

Report says tourism on islands little harmed by The Globe and Mail (Canada) 1980 August Hurricane Allen

Six French tourists missing from boat which MailOnline 2012 October disappeared in Caribbean during Hurricane Sandy

Six French tourists missing from boat which disappeared in Caribbean MailOnline 2012 October during Hurricane Sandy

Some British tourists evacuated from Hurricane Associated Press International 2004 September Ivan's path

STATE OF PANIC; TOURISTS EVACUATE AS The Mirror 2005 October HURRICANE HEADS FOR FLORIDA

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STATE OF PANIC; Tourists evacuate as hurricane The Mirror (London, England) 2005 October heads for Florida; News

St. Maarten's tourist season left in shambles by The Houston Chronicle 1999 December Hurricane Lenny

Storm Rina lashes Mexican coast; The tropical storm prompted thousands of tourists to leave the resort- Breaking News from globeandmail.com 2011 October studded area, but it failed to become the major hurricane some feared it would

STRANDED TOURISTS EVACUATED FROM Press Association 2005 October HURRICANE REGION

Stranded tourists scramble to get on flights from The Evening Standard (London) 2005 October hurricane zone

ST. THOMAS TOURISM POISED FOR POST- San Jose Mercury News (California) 1996 November HURRICANE RECOVERY

Sun-spot tourist areas largely unaffected by Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada) 1992 September hurricanes

THE HURRICANE HAS BLOWN AWAY ACAPULCO INVITES TOURISTS BACK TO Detroit Free Press 1988 April MEXICAN BEACH

The Islands Of The Bahamas Bounce Back from Hurricane Frances; Nassau/Paradise Island Tourism Back on Track; Grand Bahama Island Sustains PR Newswire 2004 September Damage Wednesday, September 8, 2004 at 5:00 PM EDT ALERT #6

THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising; After a devastating hurricane, the U.S. Virgin Islands is The New York Times 1996 January stressing American values for tourists.

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The party's still on, Mexico proclaims Cancún, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS 2005 November Cozumel tourism on the mend after hurricane

THE SAVVY TRAVELER: THIS CARIBBEAN STORM LEFT A LEGACY OF GROWTH; U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: A YEAR AFTER HURRICANE Los Angeles Times 1990 September HUGO'S DESTRUCTION, MANY TOURIST FACILITIES HAVE BEEN RENOVATED TO BETTER-THAN-ORIGINAL CONDITION.

THE WORLD; Wilma Briefly Becomes Giant Off Yucatan; The hurricane evolves into the season's Los Angeles Times 2005 October most powerful, then ebbs. Tourists are ordered out of the Keys; 12 people die in the Caribbean.

Thousands flee as hurricane hits Mexico Homes, The Globe and Mail (Canada) 1988 September hotels empty in major tourist area

Thousands flee as hurricane hits Mexico Homes, The Globe and Mail 1988 September hotels empty in major tourist area

Thousands flee Wilma's path: Tourists jam flights as The Calgary Herald (Alberta) 2005 October hurricane turns for Yucatan

Thousands of tourists flee from Hurricane Mitch, but The Associated Press 1998 October losses low

Thousands of tourists flee from Hurricane Mitch, but Associated Press International 1998 October losses low With Hurric

Thousands of Tourists Stranded by Hurricane on The Associated Press 1995 October Resort Island

Toll rises to 88 in wake of deadly Hurricane Mitch: U.S. coast guard still searching for tourist ship and Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada) 1998 October 31 crew

Tourism industry setting sights on areas not hurt by Chicago Tribune 1992 September hurricanes

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Tourism officials call for more mature, upscale Associated Press International 2006 March Cancun to emerge from post-hurricane rubble

Tourism officials call for more mature, upscale The Associated Press 2006 March Cancun to emerge from posthurricane rubble

Tourism slow to rebound after hurricanes Incentive 1995 November

Tourist alert as Hurricane Georges threatens Florida Evening Herald (Plymouth) 1998 September

Tourist-dependent islands reeling from hurricanes; Damage expected to keep visitors away during Herald News (Passaic County, NJ) 2004 October winter season

TOURIST ISLAND LEFT IN RUINS; HURRICANE KEITH RAZED REGIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA; Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 2000 October CARIBBEAN ISLAND TOOK THE MAIN BLOW

Tourist resorts brace for hurricane's direct hit Weekend Australian 2005 October

Tourists abandon Bermuda as Hurricane Igor storms in; 2 die in Puerto Rico - Tropical storm Karl The Seattle Times 2010 September dissipates, but not before at least 7 die

Tourists and offshore oil workers evacuated as The Associated Press 2005 July Hurricane Emily speeds toward Yucatan peninsula

Tourists and offshore oil workers evacuated as The Associated Press State & Local 2005 July Hurricane Emily speeds toward Yucatan peninsula Wire

The Daily Courier (Forest City, North Tourists are fleeing as hurricane nears 2007 August Carolina)

Tourists batten down as hurricane hits Antigua Western Morning News (Plymouth) 1999 October

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Tourists battle to get out of hurricane-stricken AP Worldstream 2005 October Cancun

Tourists battle to get out of hurricane-stricken The Associated Press 2005 October Cancun

TOURISTS BRACED AS HURRICANE EMILY Press Association 2005 July HEADS FOR RESORTS

TOURISTS BRACED FOR HURRICANE Press Association Mediapoint 2007 August ONSLAUGHT

Tourists brace for hurricane in Yucatan: Flights have already been cancelled s storm prepares to take aim The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia) 2005 October at Mexico, Florida

Tourists evacuated as Emily approaches; Hurricane The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, 2005 July strands 200 on flight to Toronto Ontario)

Tourists evacuated as hurricane makes landfall in The Boston Globe 2010 October Belize

Tourists evacuated from Mexico beach resort as MailOnline 2012 August Hurricane Ernesto makes land

TOURISTS FEARED DEAD IN BELIZE The Independent (London) 2001 October HURRICANE

Tourists' fears as Hurricane Paula is heading for Cuba; BEFORE YOU GO Info and advice to get you Daily Post (North Wales) 2010 October ready for takeoff

Tourists' fears as Hurricane Paula is heading for Cuba; BEFORE YOU GO Info and advice to get you Daily Post (Liverpool, England) 2010 October ready for takeoff

Tourists flee as Category 5 Hurricane Felix nears Associated Press International 2007 September Central America.

Tourists flee as Emily bears down on Mexico: The Calgary Herald (Alberta) 2005 July Hurricane is largest ever for this time of year

Tourists flee as Emily nears Mexico: Hurricane's Ottawa Citizen 2005 July power rivals devastating 1988 storm

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Tourists flee as hurricane aims at Mexico Emily Orlando Sentinel (Florida) 2005 July nears Category 5 force

Tourists flee as hurricane arrives; Features Daily Post (Liverpool, England) 2008 August

Tourists flee as Hurricane Dean heads for Mexico The Independent (London) 2007 August

Tourists flee as hurricane Dean hurtles toward Haiti, Jamaica; Seaside resorts rush to evacuate The Calgary Herald (Alberta) 2007 August thousands

Tourists flee as Hurricane Felix heads for Honduras BreakingNews.ie 2007 September

Tourists flee as hurricane Felix nears Central

BreakingNews.ie 2007 September America

Tourists flee as Hurricane Felix nears Central Associated Press International 2007 September America

Tourists flee as Hurricane Felix nears Honduran Associated Press International 2007 September Miskito Coast

Tourists flee as hurricane Felix nears Honduras' The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, 2007 September Miskito Coast Ontario)

Tourists flee as hurricane hits; ALERT: Caribbean Birmingham Evening Mail 2007 August holidaymakers take refuge from huge storm

Tourists flee as hurricane hits; ALERT: Caribbean Birmingham Mail (England) 2007 August holidaymakers take refuge from huge storm; News

Tourists flee as hurricane Irene approaches

therecord.com 2011 August Bahamas

Tourists flee as hurricane nears Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA) 2007 August

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Tourists flee as hurricane rages The Star (Sheffield) 2005 July

Tourists flee as island of Jamaica prepares for direct The Associated Press 2007 August hit from powerful Hurricane Dean

Tourists flee as island of Jamaica prepares for direct The Associated Press State & Local 2007 August hit from powerful Hurricane Dean Wire

Tourists flee as island of Jamaica prepares for The Associated Press State & Local 2007 August Hurricane Dean Wire

Tourists flee as Jamaica hit by Hurricane Dean; The Times & Transcript (New Powerful storm lashes Carribean as it heads for 2007 August Brunswick) Mexico, Texas

Tourists flee as Jamaica prepares for direct hit from The Associated Press International 2007 August Hurricane Dean

Tourists flee as Jamaica prepares for direct hit from The Associated Press Financial Wire 2007 August Hurricane Dean

Tourists flee as Jamaica prepares for direct hit from The Associated Press State & Local 2007 August Hurricane Dean Wire

Tourists flee as Jamaica prepares for direct hit from The Associated Press 2007 August Hurricane Dean; Texas, Mexico starts evacuations

Tourists flee as Jamaica prepares for direct hit from The Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick) 2007 August Hurricane Dean

Tourists flee as Jamaica prepares for Hurricane The Associated Press State & Local 2007 August Dean Wire

Tourists flee as vast hurricane closes on Mexico Agence France Presse -- English 2005 October resorts

Tourists flee battered Bahamas; Hurricane irene gathers strength; Significant amount of rain expected The Gazette (Montreal) 2011 August to soak Quebec by Sunday or Monday

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Tourists flee Bermuda; island braces for hurricane Tulsa World (Oklahoma) 1999 September

Tourists flee Cancun as Mexico declares hurricane Associated Press International 2007 August watch for Dean

Tourists flee Cancun as Wilma approaches: Hurricane expected to head for Florida after swiping Kamloops Daily News (British Columbia) 2005 October Cuba

TOURISTS FLEE CARIBBEAN AHEAD OF Charleston Gazette (West Virginia) 1995 September HURRICANE LUIS

Tourists Flee Killer Hurricane The Journal (Newcastle, UK) 2007 August

Tourists flee killer hurricane; News The Journal (Newcastle, England) 2007 August

Tourists flee Mexico's Baja as hurricane approaches The Calgary Herald (Alberta) 2006 September

Tourists flee path of hurricane Wilma Edmonton Journal (Alberta) 2005 October

Tourists fly into florida terror - North holidaymakers THE JOURNAL (Newcastle, UK) 1998 September defy hurricane

TOURISTS FLY INTO STORM; BRITISH HOLIDAYMAKERS ARE STILL LEAVING FOR The Mirror 1998 September FLORIDA ALTHOUGH HURRICANE GEORGES IS DUE TO HIT THE STATE

Tourists fly out as Jamaica prepares for a direct hit The Sunday Telegraph (LONDON) 2007 August by Hurricane Dean

Tourists forced to change course: Top Caribbean The Gazette (Montreal) 2005 October spots for Quebecers hit hard by hurricanes

Tourists have mixed reaction to hurricane Copley News Service 1998 October

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Tourists in Cancun, Cozumel prepare for Hurricane Guelph Mercury (Ontario, Canada) 2009 November Ida; but direct hit unlikely

Tourists in Cancun, Cozumel prepare for Hurricane Waterloo Chronicle 2009 December Ida; but direct hit unlikely

Tourists in Cancun, Cozumel prepare for Hurricane Carleton Place 2009 January Ida; but direct hit unlikely

Tourists in Caribbean jam airports as Hurricane The Associated Press State & Local 2007 August Dean approaches Wire

Tourists in Caribbean jam airports to escape Associated Press International 2007 August Hurricane Dean

Tourists in Caribbean jam airports to try escaping The Associated Press 2007 August monster Hurricane Dean

Tourists in Jamaica, Cayman Islands jam airports to The York Dispatch (Pennsylvania) 2007 August try escaping monster Hurricane Dean

Tourists in Jamaica, Cayman Islands jam airports as The Associated Press State & Local 2007 August Hurricane Dean nears Wire

Tourists in Jamaica, Cayman Islands jam airports to The Associated Press State & Local 2007 August try escaping monster Hurricane Dean Wire

TOURISTS IN THE CARIBBEAN TRY TO GET OUT CBS News Transcripts CBS THIS 1999 October OF THE WAY OF HURRICANE JOSE MORNING (7:00 AM ET)

Tourists jam Caribbean airports; Hurricane Dean High Point Enterprise (North Carolina) 2007 August sets sights on Jamaica, Cayman Islands

Tourists, oil workers flee Emily's path; Hurricane Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana) 2005 July 2005

Tourists preparing for the worst as Hurricane Dean The Express 2007 August heads for Mexico

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TOURISTS PROTECTED FROM EFFECTS OF IPR Strategic Business Information 2008 September HURRICANE IKE Database

Tourists race to flee Hurricane Dean 145mph winds The Daily Telegraph (LONDON) 2007 August as 'perfect storm' hits Jamaica

Tourists, residents told to leave Florida Keys as Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) 2004 September Hurricane Ivan approaches

Tourists, residents told to leave Florida Keys as The Associated Press 2004 September Hurricane Ivan approaches

Tourists, residents told to leave Florida Keys The Associated Press 2004 September because of Hurricane Ivan

Tourists, residents told to leave Florida Keys as The Associated Press State & Local 2004 September Hurricane Ivan approaches Wire

Tourists rush to escape monster Caribbean hurricane bearing down on Jamaica, Cayman Associated Press International 2007 August Islands

Tourists safe after fleeing hurricane South Wales Evening Post 2004 September

Tourists scramble to avoid hurricane; Category 4 The Record (Bergen County, NJ) 2007 August Dean threatens Jamaica

Tourists scramble to escape hurricane; Airports jammed - Dean expected to hit Jamaica today, The Seattle Times 2007 August Caymans on Monday

Tourists seek shelter from raging hurricane The Globe and Mail (Canada) 2005 July

Tourists stream out of hurricane-stricken Cancun, The Associated Press 2005 October but many still stranded

Tourists struggle to flee Cancun after hurricane St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri) 2005 October

Tourists struggle to flee Cancun after hurricane Thousands rush to planes and busses; some are St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri) 2005 October turned back

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TOURISTS TAKE REFUGE AS HURRICANE DEAN Press Association Mediapoint 2007 August LOOMS

Tourists tell horror stories Canadians return from The Toronto Star 1995 September Caribbean after devastating Hurricane Luis

TOURISTS TRAPPED ON HURRICANE-HIT Press Association 1998 October ISLANDS

The Sunday Mail (Queensland, Tourist strip lashed by Hurricane Wilma 2005 October Australia)

Tourists try to escape monster Caribbean hurricane Associated Press International 2007 October

Tourists try to flee Mexico coast; Americans search for flights after waiting through hurricane; aid moves Austin American-Statesman (Texas) 2005 October toward resorts

Tourists try to get away from Wilma; Fleeing Cancún - Hurricane pounds resorts, expected to aim for The Seattle Times 2005 October Florida

Tourists want off battered St. Thomas; Hurricane The Houston Chronicle 1995 September Marilyn blows away vacations

Travel: Jamaica: Possibly the coolest bar in the world: Last autumn this idyllic bolthole - and much else in the Caribbean - was swept away by The Guardian (London) - Final Edition 2005 January Hurricane Ivan. Four months later, it's back and so are the tourists. Decca Aitkenhead reports

Trying to calm winds of fear; Resorts aim to undo The Gazette (Montreal) 2007 September damage to tourist trade by hurricanes

TWO OUTLYING ISLANDS UNAFFECTED Puerto Rico: Hurricane hits, missed In 1989, both Vieques The Globe and Mail (Canada) 1996 September and Culebra were damaged by Hugo, but this time, they only received rain. Tourism is normal.

UK tourists flee fury of hurricane Dean Aberdeen Evening Express 2007 August

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UK TOURISTS STRANDED BY FLORIDA Daily Post (North Wales) 2004 September HURRICANE

UK TOURISTS STRANDED BY FLORIDA Daily Post (Liverpool, England) 2004 September HURRICANE

US Embassy sending representatives to Cancun to NBC News Transcripts Today 7:00 AM 2004 October aid American tourists stranded by Hurricane Wilma EST NBC

VIRGIN ISLANDS SLUMP LEFT IN WAKE OF HURRICANE HUGO STORM RAVAGES Journal of Commerce 1990 BUSINESS, TOURISM

VIRGIN ISLANDS STILL RECOVERING FROM HURRICANE MARILYN; DISASTERS: TOURISM IS RETURNING, BUT THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS Los Angeles Times 1995 December REMAIN HOMELESS OR UNEMPLOYED OR BOTH.

When will this end?' _ tourists, residents told to leave Associated Press International 2004 September Keys as Hurricane Ivan approaches

While Bertha howls ...: 'Frightening' hurricane lashes The Ottawa Citizen 1996 July coast, tourists flee

Wilma crashes travel plans October hurricane has travelers scrambling to get into Cancun, Cozumel Airlines and agents are urging patience as the The Denver Post 2005 November Mexico hot spots assess damage and try to open up for tourism.

WILMA SLAPS CANCUN; While some tourists flee, Chicago Tribune 2005 October others celebrate at hurricane parties

Wilma Yucatan-bound; Residents and tourists race The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, to find shelter as monster hurricane heads for the 2005 October Ontario) coast

WORST HURRICANE ON RECORD HITS Daily Post (North Wales) 2005 October MEXICAN TOURIST ISLAND

Worst hurricane on record hits Mexican tourist Daily Post (Liverpool, England) 2005 October island; News

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Yucatan's Pristine Paradise; After being devastated by hurricanes in 2005, this upscale resort area south Chicago Sun Times 2008 November of Cancun is making a tourism comeback

Yucatan tourists bail out as new hurricane hits The Commercial Appeal (Memphis) 1995 October Cozumel

How Can You Best Help The Bahamas After Hurricane Dorian? Tourism Experts Say Go Visit CBSNewYork (WebNews - English) 2019 September The Bahamas

Bahamas tourist industry hopes for quick comeback CBSNewYork (WebNews - English) 2019 September from ‘Category Hell’ hurricane

Jamaica's Tourism Minister calls for global support CBSNewYork (WebNews - English) 2019 September for hurricane-impacted Bahamas

Bahamas asks world tourism industry to help avoid CBSNewYork (WebNews - English) 2019 September economic crisis post Hurricane Dorian

Bahamas officials fear Hurricane Dorian destruction CBSNewYork (WebNews - English) 2019 September will spread to vital tourism industry

Hurricane Dorian devastates Bahamas tourism CBSNewYork (WebNews - English) 2019 September

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